Mi Amicus Es Mi Inimicus
by dArkliTe-sPirit
Summary: Hey, Dad? Can I have some chocolate' 'Why' 'The alien out back wants some, or else he won't finish the story.' 'Sure he won't.' Beta'ed by Bunny-Raven-Rulez
1. A Minor Mystery

dl-sPirit: Heh...hey everyone. I got this idea sometime after looking around this section...and watching one too many _Invader Zim_ episodes. No, _Invader Zim_ isn't involved. Sorry. It's a loose sequel to Abnormal, but you don't need to read that to get this...I need to work on the other sequel.

Raimundo: Uh-huh...(is reading ahead) and you're sure I can't bribe you out of this?

dl-sPirit: I'm sure. Unless...(whispers to Raimundo)

Raimundo: O.O ...the show must go on! dl doesn't own XS.

* * *

He liked thunderstorms. He had never been sure why he did, they just appealed to him. Perhaps it was the louder-than-normal pitter-patter of the rain, humming its songs of lands far away. Perhaps it was the black skies that every storm brought, creating long and distorted shadows. Perhaps it was the tornado gusts, which, at full power, could uproot a century-old tree within minutes. Perhaps it was the elaborate lines of lightning, illuminating the sky with intricate patterns.

He didn't know why, but he did, and that was why Raimundo Pedrosa had yet to fall asleep, despite the late hour. A thunderstorm had appeared, and Raimundo couldn't resist watching. Sure, he probably wouldn't be able to get up tomorrow, and Master Fung would be mad – but he didn't care. Something about storms made the Shoku Warrior feel peaceful, ironically enough.

His eyes widened as an extra-bright flash lit up the sky, throwing everything into light. "Wow…" He whispered, a grin appearing on his face. As the light faded, he heard thunder – and a small flash appeared.

It wasn't like lightning – it was small and round. Raimundo watched, his eyebrows furrowed. What was that? It wasn't a comet – comets made arcs, they didn't go straight down. It was falling unusually fast. He saw it disappear behind a mountain – and a white dome appeared.

The Dragon of the Wind clutched his arm as a sharp pain seized it. And, yet…he knew he had only taken a fraction, the smallest amount. He looked at his arm, then at where the "comet" had crashed. Was…was it possible? Logic said no, that maybe it was some mythological being like a dragon or even a phoenix, but everything else screamed, "IT WAS!"

"No way…" He whispered.

(---)

The next morning, Raimundo had managed to wake up early. He quickly ate breakfast and headed out to the shen-gong-wu vault. As he was about to open it-

"Raimundo? Is something troubling you?"

He turned around to see Master Fung, blue eyes piercing him. "Well, I…" He groaned. It was impossible to lie to the elder monk. "Sorta. I saw something last night, and it crash-landed in the mountains. I was hoping I could take a quick look." He left out the pain it caused.

Master Fung mulled over his words before saying, "I expect you back in one hour." The brazilian nodded, opening the vault as he did so. It didn't take long to grab the Longi Kite, Shroud of Shadows, and Kimiko's camera phone.

Walking onto the grounds, prepared, he paused to look at the rising sun before taking off into the mountains.

(---)

Kimiko, Omi, Clay, and Jericho had just finished breakfast, the three Dragons now ready to train. Since Raimundo had become a Shoku Warrior, he was usually training before all of them, wide awake. But this morning… he was nowhere to be seen. The Wudai Warriors looked at each other and shrugged, with Jericho not appearing to be troubled. Strange, but not strange enough to make them go look for him. He'd probably be outside, training with them, soon.

Omi had only taken a step when something black, red, and green swooped by, knocking the young monk off his feet. "Wah! What in the-"

"Sorry!" Shouted the 'something' as it skidded to a landing not too far away. Kimiko stared at Raimundo as he took off the Longi Kite while Clay and Jericho helped Omi get back up. Immediately, Omi dashed over to the brazilian, rather angry.

"Raimundo, what were you doing with the Longi Kite? And why did you knock ME over?!" He shouted, glaring. Jericho made several gestures, all of them rude. Raimundo held his hands up, protesting, "Hey, it was an accident, and I was checking something out."

"Does-"

"Yeah, the Fungmeister knows I took the Longi Kite…and the Golden Tiger Claws and Shroud of Shadows." He pulled out the other two wu, tossing them to Omi. "Ok, we good? Just gotta put something in my room, and I'll be right there." He started to walk past them, when Jericho noticed something bright pink sticking out of his pocket and snatched it.

"Hey, dude-" Jericho ignored the Shoku Warrior, handing the device to Kimiko. Kimiko stared, then glowered at Raimundo.

"You took my PHONE?!" The Dragon of Fire shouted, glaring at the brazilian.

"I needed it! It's not damaged or anything!" Kimiko groaned, flipping it opening and checking the picture gallery. She swore, if any of her photos were gone, she would kill him. She stopped after a few seconds.

"Rai…what is this?" Clay peered over her shoulder to look at the picture. Omi jumped on Clay's back, with Jericho peering over his shoulder so they too could see it. 'It' was a picture of a large crater, with something metallic in the center. This wouldn't be so odd, except that the crater was easily 20 feet in diameter, with a faint glow around the edges.

Raimundo shrugged. "Something crashed in the mountains last night, and I went to see what it was…but all I found was that crater – and this." He pulled out a blackish metal, about half a foot long, torn and twisted. "Wanna know something? It reacts to the Tiger Claws."

Omi dashed over and snatched the metal from his hands, scrutinizing it. Nothing about its appearance seemed strange – it was cold to the touch and not particularly shiny. "Most strange…" He tossed it upwards and shouted, "Wudai Neptune – Water!" A fist of the element sprung up, punching the metal deep into the ground. As Omi recalled the water, the metal was still whole and twisted, glistening like scales from the moisture. Nothing else had changed.

"Most mysterious," Omi remarked, "It doesn't break!"

"Let me try," Kimiko said, flames sparking to life in her hands, "Wudai Mars – Fire!" Fire shot out, striking the metal and surrounding it. The tongues of fire licked the metal as Kimiko poured in as much heat as she possibly could. Everything heated up at some point, especially metal. After several minutes of intense heat, almost too hot for the other warriors, she waved her hands, making the fire vanish – but the metal was unchanged, just surrounded by scorched earth. It wasn't even glowing. 'Strange…' An idea sprang to mind. She walked over and touched it.

"Um, Kimiko?" Clay started.

"It's not even warm!" She exclaimed. Jericho stared in astonishment. "I don't get it. What is this?" Raimundo looked to the ground.

"I tried all that stuff too – throwing it off the mountain top, striking it with wind. It's way too strong for any kind of metal we have. I kinda came up with this theory…" He said quietly, "But it's pretty stupid." He didn't dare look up. The three Wudai warriors exchanged looks, with Jericho looking at him in confusion. Raimundo was rarely so self-conscious about anything.

"Theory's better than nothin'. What is it?" Clay asked. The Shoku Warrior took a deep breath, staying silent for another minute. Omi started to feel impatient.

"I demand you spill your internal organs!" The young monk shouted, shattering the silence and creating a brief moment of awkwardness.

"Spill your guts," Jericho quietly corrected in his rasp voice.

"That too." Omi turned back to the Shoku Warrior.

"I think…" Raimundo mumbled something, not caught by any of them.

"What?" Clay asked.

"Aliens." He looked up. "I mean, I saw it, and it was like it was falling, not like a comet, but like a rock. I think something from outer space crashed – and it's never been on Earth before." The other four people just stared in astonishment.


	2. The Stanger Stranger

dl-sPirit: Wow! Four reviews on my first chapter! Great! I just wanna thank you guys again! I love ya!

Raimundo: Yeah, yeah...so, you really think you can keep up this schedule?

dl-sPirit: A chapter a week? I think so. Anyways, don't own XS, only the alien...so, here's the chapter!

* * *

CRASH!

Jack Spicer opened an eye reluctantly. What was that sound? It sounded like it had come from his evil lair, not too far from his room. That was weird…all of his robots were shut down. He sat up in his bed, clutching his blanket. What if something mean had broken into his lair and was stealing his pudding cups?

'_Jack, calm down. It was only a little sound. Something could've just fallen. Besides, the only person who eats your pudding cups is Tubbimura, and I doubt it's him,'_ He told himself, exhaling. Even if that wasn't true, it made him feel better. His evil lair was dark at night and he just wanted to get back to sleep. With a satisfied sigh, he laid back down, pulling the blankets over his head.

And there was a scraping sound, the sound of metal against metal.

The evil boy genius sat up, eyes wide. That was not just a little sound, that was not something falling. Something was in his lair, going through his things, and he knew it. What if it was Katnappé, and she wanted his shen-gong-wu? Bad idea.

With a quiet moan, Jack got out of his bed, grabbing a large flashlight. Well, if they tried escaping through the entrance, it would hurt…he just wished he wasn't wearing the black 'Snoopy' pajamas. It didn't make him feel very brave.

His nightlight cast a large shadow on the wall as he left his room, almost shaking with nervousness. If it turned out to be one of Chase's "jungle cats"…well, he could always scream and run. That worked in the past. He could see that his lair's door was open, ever so slightly. Of course, he had forgotten to close the door before going to bed, but still…

He approached the door, hearing clinking sounds. His wall had probably muffled most of them, and that "CRASH" he heard could have been a robot head falling off a shelf. Those made loud noises whenever they fell. So they were going through his robot parts. Trying to gather his nerve, he pushed open the door slightly.

"W-Who's there?" He called into the darkness, voice quavering. He didn't sound very threatening. The noises stopped for a moment, and he caught a gleam of something metallic turning towards him. The silence lingered, and was broken as this person turned back to the parts, going through them. They were looking for something, he knew it. Fumbling with the flashlight's switch, he turned it on and pointed the beam of light at this stranger. And almost felt his heart stop as it turned to face him.

He couldn't see much of this stranger with the light, but they weren't human. It had a round head, covered in a blackish metal, with three sharp horns protruding from the back. He could see the face a little – vivid violet eyes and what looked like a set of fangs. Shocked by this intruder's appearance, Jack put his hand on the wall, feeling around for the light switch. After a long second, he found it and turned on the lights.

Now he could see the entire humanoid being. It was entirely covered in the blackish metal, except for the right arm – there was a terrible gash leaking a gold-colored fluid. Some sort of structure, reminiscent of dragon wings without any leathery skin, sprouted from where he guessed shoulder blades would be if it were human. The arms ended in hands of sort, with four clawed fingers. The legs were slender, with feet like a hawk's – but larger. There was a tail like a metallic dragon. The being was close to perhaps five feet. Overall, in Jack's opinion, scary and rather creepy. It had to be a robot, but who could've built it? And why did it come to him?

The robot being cocked its head in curiosity, and started speaking. "Qa riyu zhi…" It trailed off as it noticed Jack's apparent confusion. He had never heard that kind of language before…maybe a variation on Greek? Or could it only speak gibberish? His question was answered as it made a sound, like it was clearing its throat, and spoke again. "You…make these…correct?" It spoke with a slightly western accent, speaking in broken phrases. _'Apparently someone is lousy with machines,'_ Jack thought. His robots spoke far better English than this oddity.

"You…make these?" It repeated, waving its undamaged arm to get the gothic genius's attention.

"Wha- oh, yeah. I make 'em all right." He paused to look at his assortment of parts. "Impressed?" The robot ignored his query, or didn't hear it. Either way, it asked, in its broken English, "I need…fixing. Can you…help?"

"Uh…I guess..." He looked over the robot. It was an odd being, but it looked like it was built to fight…repairing it could teach him how to copy the design, or maybe find its creator. Getting over the shock of seeing an extremely weird robot in his lab, he was now thinking of countless uses. Like aiding his own robots in battle against the 'Xiaolin Losers'. "Might have to shut you down, though." He started to go down the stairs.

The robot shook its head no. "Can't…shut down." Jack stopped. For a moment, the robot had sounded just like him. _'Maybe I should wait till morning. Sounds like my mind's playing tricks on me,'_ he thought, looking at the being. Then again, it had spoken in a Western accent… perhaps the robot learned how to speak English through mimicry, thus why it spoke in words and phrases and, more importantly, why it had sounded like him. That would make sense. Weird, but plausible.

"Well, it won't be a complete repair, you know," Jack replied, continuing to go down the steps. The robot made a strange motion, which Jack interpreted to be a shrug. This robot was rather strange, for certain.

It didn't take long for Jack to get ready: black trenchcoat, face shield, metal, and acetylene torch. The robot was sitting on the table in the middle of his lab, looking at the torch both with a distant interest and a touch of fear, especially as the evil boy genius turned it on, making sure it worked before turning it off and putting it down.

He looked over the damage. A tube had been split, thus the goldish liquid, the metal skin had been torn off and – wait. He peered closer. Under the black metal seemed to be a skin of some sort, certainly organic. That was rather strange…a robot with organic parts? But why?

The robot once more stared at him, violet humanoid eyes seeming to stare past him, looking at something he couldn't see. "Fix?"

"Oh, yeah," Jack muttered, pulling out his toolbox from under the table. He'd have to close that tube. Duct tape would probably act as a satisfactory sealer, until he could shut this thing down and replace the entire tube. Pulling out the roll and a pair of scissors, he noted the odd structure – a metal rod, thick with the tube wrapped around it, almost like a steel bone; small wires, connected to the "skin" and going deep into the body, like…nerves; and some sort of flexible tubing, torn open to reveal the anatomy but containing the entire thing and allowing it flexibility…like muscles. Jack could not believe it. Its structure resembled human anatomy to a T.

'_What the – oh dear God, who the hell made this thing?'_ the gothic genius thought. This robot seemed more…human than robotic. It was quite frightening. And why did they build it like that? Still…with a gulp, he got to work.

Much to Jack's relief, most of the damage was clean-cut, and simple to fix. The broken wires, he replaced with some of his own and connected with electric tape. The tube was sealed up completely. He closed the flexible tubing, using the torch to fuse pieces of scrap to it. Much to his shock, the "skin" was starting to regrow, covering the fused tubing. That left the metal armor to repair. And he was more freaked out than ever, trying to keep his hands steady. The more time he spent with this robot, the more he was convinced that it was actually a living, sentient being. That scared him.

"W…well-" Jack started

"Konjou."

"Oh…Konjou."_ 'Konjou? What kind of name is that? Who made him – it anyways?'_"Well, I'm almost done. J…just have to do a touch-up." Konjou examined his arm.

"I'll finish," The robot being said. His eyes flashed blue momentarily. Suddenly, the metal on his arm seemed to start melting, a layer of the liquid metal dripping onto the healing "skin". As soon as it was covered, the metal immediately hardened and cooled. There was little sign of damage. Jack stared.

"How…how'd you do that? My Jack-bots could SO use that trick!" He exclaimed, some of his inventing enthusiasm returning. If his Jack-bots could do minor repairs on themselves, they'd have a better chance against the warriors. Once more, his mind raced with possibilities. He almost didn't hear Konjou speaking again.

"I am…in your debt." The robot hopped off the table, making a short bow. "I will…serve…as best I can." Out of all the things Jack had expected, that wasn't one of them. A new servant? He started to imagine the possibilities – one of them ending in defeat for the warriors, thanks to this dude – robot. _'I gotta stop doing that. It's just a robot,' _He thought, shaking his head before yawning. It was still night – his mother was obviously fast asleep – and he was tired.

"Well, you make yourself comfortable, I'm going back to bed," He mumbled taking off the trenchcoat and face shield, putting them away The acetylene torch went back into the box, with Konjou placing the toolbox under the table before Jack grabbed it.

"That is…what you wanted?" Konjou asked, looking a bit worried.

"Yup…thanks dude. Well, g'night." Jack yawned even wider, going up the stairs and out of the lab. He forgot to turn the lights off. Konjou just stared after him.

"G'night," He mimicked, matching Jack's tone perfectly. He picked up a small bolt, tossing it up and down, before hurling it towards the switch. It hit it right on, plunging the lab into darkness.


	3. Testing

dl-sPirit: And the next chapter, as I promised! This one, I think has been the most fun to write so far. Mainly because of the first half.

Raimundo: Uh-huh...yeah...(looks down) Ok, maybe, but still...

dl-sPirit: Hey, remember it! Don't own XS - and, before I forget, I wanna thank xXDeath-N'-HellXx and Lone Warrior 2 for reviewing 8D

* * *

Jack woke up, feeling more exhausted than usual. He yawned and stretched, reluctant to get out of bed. "That was some weird dream," He muttered. It was a good thing Wuya had gone with Chase, or she'd be yelling at him for sleeping in until nine.

He sat up, looking at the clock. 9:36. Even though it was late summer, it was actually pretty late for him. He shrugged and got out of bed. So what if he overslept once? It wasn't like his robots would explode because of it – he made a few fine tune adjustments to them after Wuya left. She had liked it, like some alarm system for him. He changed into his normal Frankenstein shirt and pants – his trenchcoat wasn't in his closet. He assumed he left it downstairs. He'd just grab it before breakfast. Oh, and maybe tighten the bolts on a few Jack-bots. And maybe try to find better weapons. After all, ever since the Xiaolin Losers got that kid, Jack had yet to grab any more wu. It wasn't fair – five against one were terrible odds, even if the fifth couldn't fight. He still made some pretty convincing illusions. He had one wu left – the Monkey Staff.

He left his room and went down the stairs. By this time, Mom had probably left for work so he had the whole house-

"Hi Jack!"

He yelled and jumped a full three feet into the air. He recognized that voice. But it couldn't be…right? Since her last visit two years ago, she hadn't come back. He turned around and saw it was her.

Megan.

"What are you doing here!" He stamped his foot in frustration, clearly remembering her last visit. "How long have you been here?"

"Half an hour. Aunt Lily said to wake you up if you weren't up by the time she left."

"Sorry to ruin your fun, then, but I beat you to it." He walked to his workshop, but Megan followed.

"I couldn't find the ugly old hag."

"Yeah, she left."

"Why is your basement locked?"

"To keep people like you out. Now stop asking questions."

"Why?" Jack stopped and glared at Megan. Though she was now a year older, she was still just as annoying, and she refused to remain silent. He sighed. He had no other option. "If you're quiet, you can play with the Jack-bots." He knew how desperate it sounded. Megan, in reply, shrugged, which slightly worried the evil genius. He punched in the access code and the door opened. He flicked on the lightswitch.

There, leaning against the table and looking quite bored, was the robot – what was its name? Konjou? – from last night. Jack grinned – so, it hadn't been a dream, he had a new partner.

"What's that?" Megan leaned against the railing, her interest clear. He decided to take advantage of that.

"It-"

"He," The robot corrected. Jack rolled his eyes.

"Ok, fine, _he's_ a robot." Jack shot a look at the robot. Now it – he looked offended. Jack wasn't sure how – nothing had changed on its face, it just seemed offended. "And you can play with him if you behave."

"Ok!" Megan hopped on the railing and slid down with a joyous squeal.

"Hey, my robot!" Jack ran after her. Megan reached the bottom first and ran over to Konjou.  
"Hiya. Did Jack make you?" Konjou made a strange, echoing sound. It took them a few minutes to realize he was laughing.

"No. He merely…repaired my arm." He stopped laughing. "And I am… no…robot." He nodded, as if to assure himself he had used the right words.

"Then what are you?" He stood up a little straighter.

"Shza magna." Jack blinked at his words. They didn't sound like any tongue he ever heard, and that accent was foreign too. Where did this thing – shzamagna or whatever it was – come from? Megan giggled.

"Hmm?"

"You talk kinda funny." Konjou cleared a nonexistent throat.

"It's not…what I would say. I learn by… by…" Jack noted the western twang back in its voice.

"Copying?"

"Copying." Both Megan and Jack laughed, unable to control the urge. The tough-looking, spiked ro –shzamagna had, for just a second, sounded like the little girl. Jack tried to calm down.

"O-okay, that's enough." He let out one last snicker before noticing the shzamagna's glare. Crap, what was his name? "Hey, uh-"

"Konjou." He sounded like he was pissed off.

"Yeah, can you show us what you can do?" Though Konjou had no visible mouth, his violet eyes revealed his smirk.

"Sure thing, partner." He took a few steps forward and stretched out his wing-frames. There was a flash of light, a brief sizzle, and red electricity fields surged between the rods.

"Cool – ack!" Jack ducked as an electromagnetic bolt whizzed overhead, crashing into a shelf behind him. The shzamagna then dug his claws into his arm, tore off a sharp piece of armor, and threw it like a dart at Jack. "Aaaaaaaaah!" He ducked, expecting to hear a crash above. It never came. Looking up, Jack saw the metal shrapnel, suspended in midair and glowing blue. It floated back to its owner, and he put it back on his arm. It melted seamlessly into place. Konjou tapped a claw against the arm. "Ok, ok, I'm sorry! Seesh!"

"Can you fly?" Megan asked. Jack looked at Megan, then at Konjou. He was surprised to see him shake his head.

"Weigh too much." Jack frowned, thinking.

"I bet I could fix that. Just get back onto the table." Konjou shrugged and sat down on the lit table. Jack walked over to the table and grabbed the toolbox below it. Though he wasn't a machine, Jack was convinced that Konjou had enough robotic properties so he could work on him. "Erm…mind turning around?" Konjou growled quietly before obeying. The first thing Jack noticed was the fractured metal right between the wing bases, where part of an iron pipe popped out. "That's interesting." Konjou tensed.

"What is?"

"Don't move."

"Wha-?" Jack pushed the pipe back into the body with a loud thump. Konjou's body appeared to seize up and fell forward eye sockets black. Both Jack and Megan stared. Then, Megan said,

"I think you broke him."

(---)

"Raimundo! You have grown most slow since our last battle! Hyah!" Omi jump-kicked at his apparent enemy. Sparring time at the temple had always been Omi's favorite part of being the Dragon of Water. Though he couldn't always count on a good fight from, say, Jack, he could always count on one from his friends. So why was Raimundo faltering?

Sitting some distance away, under one of the old tree, Jericho and Raimundo watched Omi spar with thin air. The star on Jericho's chest glowed slightly as he furrowed his brow, concentrating on the illusion. Raimundo sighed.

"Jericho, you're a godsend." The younger boy didn't reply; he was too absorbed in his efforts.

"Raimundo!" Both boys jumped, and Omi's illusion vanished. Raimundo looked up at Kimiko and Clay.

"Hey….it's not what it looks like, I swear." The Shoku Warrior tried to avoid everyone else's glares. "Jericho, back me up here."

'He said he needed a short break,' Jericho signed. The Dragon of Fire groaned.

"Jericho, please don't do it again. We need to keep training with each other."

"Then how is he supposed to train?" Raimundo asked. Omi cleared his throat.

"Jericho may use the Tiger's Eye if we request it or when he is alone. That should be adequate," The Dragon of Water replied. Raimundo groaned.

"Fine." He got up, revealing the twisted black metal between him and the younger boy, and pointed at the metal. "Excuse me if I wanted to check that out some more."

"Anything new?" Clay asked. Omi looked slightly eager. He had to confess; since Raimundo brought it back three days ago, the metal intrigued him.

"Well…I did manage to dent it when I dropped the Two-Ton-Tunic on it." Clay picked it up and examined it.

"Where?" He asked.

'It repaired itself.' Jericho shrugged. 'Really. It's weird.'

"Yeah…" Raimundo looked around. "Hey, where's Dojo? I haven't tried dropping him on it." Jericho snickered. No one else seemed quite as amused. "Seesh, can't you guys take a joke?"

"Hey, everyone! We got another hot one!" Everyone looked up as Dojo approached, holding the Scroll of the Shen-gong-wu over his head. "It-" He sniffed. "Hey, what's that smell?"

"Might be this." Clay held the metal out to Dojo. He took one sniff and covered his nose.

"Boy, that's really strong. Smells familiar." Everyone else exchanged looks. The metal didn't smell like anything to them. "Anyways, let's get going." Dojo expanded to his full size, and the four warriors jumped on. Jericho, however, hung back.

'Can I come?' Unlike the rest, he had to ask for permission. They hesitated.

"Well, Jericho, it's not that we don't like you or anything, but you've been tagging along with us a lot lately. Maybe you can skip this one. Getting the wu should be easy." Jericho nodded and watched as Dojo took off.


	4. In The Rainforest

dl-sPirit: Sorry about missing my update last week! I kinda lost the the computer...;

Raimundo: Told ya you couldn't do it.

dl-sPirit: Hey, I don't pay you to make wisecracks!

Raimundo: You don't pay me at all, remember?

dl-sPirit: Oh yeah...I forgot. Here. (hands Raimundo a large box) That should do. Again, I thank xXDeath-N'-HellXx and Lone Warrior 2 for being awesome readers. Don't own Xiaolin Showdown - otherwise, this'd be an episode, wouldn't it? ...Raimundo, are you praying?

Raimundo: (stands back up from kneeling and unclasps hands) ...no.

dl-sPirit: Well, here's the chapter!

* * *

"For the last time, I'm sorry! Seesh!" Jack rolled his eyes and crossed his arms. "At least you can fly now!"

Konjou nodded in reluctant assent. It was true. Here he was, flying by Jack's side, wing frames outstretched and electricity crackling. It was good to be in the sky, even if he didn't know what world he was on. "We're looking for?"

"The-" Jack stopped. He had a feeling it would only confuse Konjou further. "It looks like a butterfly. With jewels-"

"Butterfly?" Konjou tilted his head. Megan, who was being carried by Konjou, looked up at him.

"They're these bugs with big, beautiful wings – they're hard to describe. I'll show you one, ok?" Konjou nodded in reply. Jack started to descend, and he followed.

They landed in front of a cave in a shady, steaming forest. Jack looked at Konjou. "Hey, you're waterproof, right? Water doesn't hurt you?" The shzamagna shrugged. "Eh, good enough. You guard the entrance while I look for the wu, ok?" He nodded. Jack entered the cave, the Monkey Staff sticking out of his trenchcoat. The chirping of birds and hooting of monkeys kept it from being silent.

"So, what do you think of this place? Ever been here?" Megan asked. Konjou shook his head no. He seemed confused. "Wow. Seen pictures?" Another no. "Huh." Then, a large, vividly-colored butterfly fluttered right over her head. "Konjou, that's a butterfly."

"No metal… polmechs?"

"Huh?"

"Nothing." He hesitated. "This place…is…like?" Megan giggled.

"Let's go see!" She started to run, going into the rainforest. Konjou looked behind himself at the cave, hesitated, then followed. As long as he could still see it, it'd be ok.

(---)

"Finally, we have one in Brazil. It feels like forever since I last saw home." Dojo circled above the Amazon Rainforest before diving below the canopy. The rainforest echoed with the screech of a jaguar. Raimundo instinctively took a step back. Omi shot him a look.

"Fear not, Raimundo. I brought along the Tongue of Saiping." He held up the wu as proof.

"Nice, but I've still heard stories." He shuddered. "Let's just go. Which way, Dojo?"

"That wa-" Dojo broke off, covering his nose suddenly. "Clay, do you still have that metal? It's REALLY strong here." Clay shook his head.

"I left it back at the Temple, with Jericho." Kimiko arched an eyebrow.

"Wait, so…whatever that metal came from, is here?" She asked. Clay shrugged.

"Could be. Dojo, which way?"

"Same direction as the wu." Dojo started slithering forward.

"Talk about convenient," The Shoku Warrior remarked as they all followed Dojo.

It felt like a much longer walk than expected as Dojo led the way, sniffing and trying to pinpoint both the metal and the wu. Raimundo started a game of "I Spy" with his friends to help pass the time.

"Ok, guys, now I spy-" He broke off. Though barely visible through the bushes, he could see the blonde hair, twinkling blue eyes, and the pink hair bow. "-Megan?"

"Huh?" Megan emerged from the foliage, looking just as surprised as they were.

"Hey guys. How are you?" She smiled innocently. "Jack's getting the Shen-Gong-Wu."

"Kinda figured as much-" Clay started. Interrupting him was a metallic voice that sounded similar to Jack's.

"Megan!" Something swooped through the foliage and picked her up. She giggled. Dojo spazzed.

"That's it!" The metallic, spiky thing looked at them, a violet light glowing in two eyesockets.

"Xiaolin?"

"Yes. Are you one of Jack's robots?" Omi retorted. All the warriors struck battle poses, preparing to fight. The metallic being bristled.

"Robot?!" It set down Megan and gently pushed her aside. Megan took the hint and took a few steps back. Then, it struck its down pose, wing frames opening and electricity crackling in the air. Then, it lowered its claws and looked at Kimiko, the violet lights showing confusion.

"…what?" She looked down at herself. No, nothing wrong with her appearance. She looked back up to see the thing jabbing a claw to the side.

"Um Kim?" Clay said, "I think it wants you off the field." The being nodded.

"Field…no girls." Kimiko glared. It had not just said that.

"Wudai Mars, Fire!" The fireball flew at the being, barely avoiding Omi's head. The robot-thing leaped to the side, letting the fire strike a tree. For a brief second, it looked concerned before shooting a bolt of red electricity from its wings at the four.

"Ack!" As one, they scattered. The robot-thing shot several more bolts, trying to hit them. Clay briefly wondered if Jack actually had built it – its aim was pretty decent. If it wasn't for training, he guessed they would've been fried.

"Wudai Neptune, Water!" The wave of water rose from the ground, apparently from nowhere, and came down on the robot. They all grinned. Jack's robots were pretty weak, it was likely it was destroyed. Megan looked worried for a second – then cheered.

"Cool!" The four warriors looked back down. Though its wings were folded against its back and its left arm seemed to have a spasmodic twitch, the robot seemed unfazed by the water. It nodded at Megan and glared up at the warriors.

"Juki-kagras, hui e riperas!" They all exchanged glances, not understanding a word he had just said. The accent had sounded strange too. The robot's eyes flashed blue. It was hard to say what happened next. Suddenly, Clay's belt and Big Bang Meteorang, Kimiko's hairclips, and Raimundo's Blade of the Nebula went flying from their owners.

"What just-?" Raimundo started before the items halted inches before the robot. Then, as though controlled by an invisible puppeteer, they flipped around and flew back at the four like missiles.

"Duck!" Kimiko yelled, dropping down barely in time to avoid being speared by her own hairclips. Clay fell, trying to keep his pants on while avoiding his own wudai weapon.

"Wind!" The sudden gust attacked the Blade of the Nebula as Raimundo tried to stop its attack. Much to his shock, the Blade did not stop; it was slowed, but not stopped. He dropped down as the wind vanished, letting the wudai weapon spear the tree. Omi, however, dodged Clay's belt with a leap. The robot didn't see him coming until Omi's foot connected with his head. The robot was knocked down, and Omi grinned triumphantly. Then, his grin faded.

"Owowowowow!" He fell down, holding the foot he had kicked with in agony. The other warriors sweatdropped. The robot got back to its feet, the violet light narrowed.

"You-"

"Hey, Konjou!" Jack flew above the battlefield. "Wuya got the wu. Let's go – hey, did you actually beat up the Xiaolin losers? Ha!" He snickered while Konjou nodded.

"Hey, we won! He's running away," Kimiko pointed out – and narrowly avoided an electrobolt. The robot – Konjou, what an odd name, considering it was Jack – had unfolded its wings and now glared at her. It walked over to Megan and picked her up with her right arm. She waved.

"See ya guys!" Konjou then took off, following Jack. Everyone left exchanged glances.

"…ok, is anyone else unsure about what just happened?" Dojo asked.

(---)

"Really?" Jack laughed. "That's awesome!" Konjou nodded before breaking his magnetic field, letting the metal Xiaolin copies fall to pieces. Jack, for once, could honestly say that he didn't care about losing the Shen-Gong-Wu. Normally, he'd spend several hours repairing the Jack-bots. This time, he used a little less than an hour watching Konjou re-enact the battle with the Xiaolin losers. He wished he had been there, just to see them fail.

Megan, however, wasn't quite as entertained. She had already seen the battle live (minus the few embellishments Konjou added) and really just wanted to play. "Jack? Remember what you promised?"

"What and when?"

"A few days ago. You said if I was good, I could play with Konjou. I haven't been able to play with him yet." Jack's eyes nearly bugged out of his head.

"Megan, NO! I don't want you breaking him! I al-" Konjou cleared his throat.

"Where…kir – honor?" There, that strange accent again. "Keep… promise." Jack groaned.

"Aren't you supposed to be on my side?" Konjou just folded his arms and glared. "…fine. But if she wants to do sissy stuff, you can't blame me!" He stalked over to his workbench. There was a long pause between Megan and Konjou.

"…do?"

"Do you know how to play jump rope?"

"Jump rope?"

"Oh, it's easy. I'll show you."


	5. Lava Racing

dl-sPirit: Hey guys

dl-sPirit: Hey guys. (waves) (dodges a tomato) Fine, fine, I'll update sooner next time.

Raimundo: Great. ...and when would that be?

dl-sPirit: Soon, I guess. Well, big thanks to Lone Warrior 2 for being a great reviewer. For that, you get a pudding cup.

Raimundo: And, before she forgets, gets sued, and gets us all in jail, dl doesn't own Xiaolin Showdown.

* * *

Jericho rested his head on his arms, bored and looking out the temple's main window. "When're you getting back, guys?" he whispered, more to himself than anyone else. He couldn't be blamed; the temple was much more fun when the warriors were there.

His heart leaped as he saw a streak of green in the sky. As it grew closer, he grinned and ran outside. They were finally back. He couldn't wait to see the new shen-gong-wu. He heard it could imitate the voices of trusted ones. To someone who hadn't heard his family in the longest time, that was a very big deal.

Jericho slowed down as he reached Kimiko, Clay, Omi, Raimundo, and Dojo (who had just shrunk down to normal size, thank goodness). Something was wrong. They looked a bit roughed up and upset. He frowned. That wasn't right. Why weren't they happy about getting another wu?

'Hi guys. Can I see the wu?' he signed. No one seemed eager to reply. Not good. 'What happened?' Omi hung his head.

"We were attacked and distracted. Wuya has the shen-gong-wu. It is most shameful."

'Hey, nothing wrong with that. Chase is tough.'

"Um, Jericho?" He looked at Kimiko. "It wasn't Chase." He felt his heart stop for a minute. Not Chase? 'Then who-?'

"Jack's got a new robot. It's really weird – and actually not half-bad. We might need to leave you here for a while," Raimundo explained. "And it's covered in the same met-" He broke off mid-thought. Clay gave him a look.

"What? You forget something, pardner?"

"Yeah – remember what I thought it was from? An alien!" He chuckled. "For once, I don't think I mind being wrong." Everyone else exchanged glances.

"Then where did Jack get that type of armor? I do believe that, if he had it before, he would have used it to strengthen his Jack-bots." Omi arched an eyebrow. The Shoku Warrior shrugged.

"Ok, fine, we won't rule out the 'alien' possibility yet. Hey, Jericho, you think you can make something on a description?" Jericho nodded and started signing rapidly.

'One alien-robot, coming up!'

(--)

Jack put on the face shield. Stupid shzamagna. One minute it was loyal to him; the next, playing jump rope with Megan. It needed to get its priorities straight. He looked over to the two as they started a round of double dutch. It was funny at first, when Konjou tried to incinerate, cut, and otherwise destroy the rope, but now it was getting boring. He was just jumping with Megan now. Jack picked up the machine part and the acetylene torch.

"What's that?" Jack suppressed the urge to jump and glared at Megan.

"Aren't you supposed to be jumping around with Konjou?"

"Broke." Jack turned his head to look at Konjou. He could see bits of burnt rope hanging from the wing frames. He sighed.

"That's what you get for jumping rope." Konjou shook his head no.

"Good ….train." Jack stared.

"…whatever you say." He shrugged and focused on the machine part once more. "Now, be quiet. I don't want this to slip." He turned on the torch and started working. Megan and Konjou exchanged looks and left Jack to find a stronger rope.

(--)

The steel factory was used to odd happenings, ranging from nutcases breaking in to a possible haunting. Even when they found an unmeltable copper statue, even when it glowed, they didn't think much of it. They thought they could stand anything.

Of course, that was before the red-haired lady and four teenagers appeared and started fighting by summoning fire and throwing boomerangs that went right through their tools.  
Clay watched the workers run out, screaming. "You think they'll be ok?"

"Well, we didn't hurt them, but I'd hate to be their therapist," Raimundo replied before blowing back Wuya's attack with a gust of wind. "I don't get it, she's powerless and we still have trouble beating her!"

"Well, she's kinda fifteen hundred years old, at least." Kimiko threw a fireball at Wuya, barely missing and only scorching the hem of her outfit. "Hey, where's Omi?" Dojo had to look around for only a second.

"Getting the wu." The Dragon of Water was indeed climbing on top of machinery, trying to reach the vat of slag where the statue swayed precariously on its ledge. The slightest movement could make it irretrievable, Omi knew. He was trying to disturb it as little as possible.

Wuya looked up at Dojo's words and glared at Omi. She swiftly kicked away Raimundo (fool enough to go for a direct attack) and ran after the smallest monk. She wasn't losing this wu, not to a cue ball!

Omi reached up over the ledge and touched the wu – just as Wuya grabbed it.

"Omi, I challenge you to-" As she spoke, she pulled the wu down from the ledge – and both heard a loud yelp. On the wu was a third, metallic hand. Looking up, they both saw the strange robot pulling itself out from the vat, slag dripping off his horns. He pulled the fangs off the front of his face and spat out some of the metallic waste.

"…a Showdown Trio?" Omi finished, in shock. The robot put the fangs back in – Omi guessed it was some sort of filter – and glared at the other two contestants. He could hear his fellow warriors laughing, but they weren't the ones facing him. As hilarious as the sight was – he couldn't suppress an amused grin – he was sure the robot would attempt to claw out his eyes for laughing.

"Fine." Wuya rolled her eyes and muttered something to the effect of too many people wanting shen-gong-wu. "I wager the Butterfly of Shinyu against Omi's Glove of Jisaku against-" She looked up at the robot. "Mind giving me a name?"

"His name's Konjou, and he wagers the Monkey Staff!" Jack rose from over the vat (Omi wondered just when Jack got in), holding up the Monkey Staff. He tossed down to the ro- Konjou, who caught it with its – his free hand. "The game is-"

"Jack, you're not part of the showdown. You can't decide the game," Wuya interrupted, rolling her eyes. Jack crossed his arms.

"The game is-" Omi hurriedly looked around for some ideas before looking back up at the slag above. A metaphoric lightbulb lit up. "A race over lava." The witch once more rolled her eyes. "Whoever reaches the end without falling wins."

"Hmph…I accept." Wuya then coughed. Konjou also nodded, drops of slag flung off.

"Let's go! Xiaolin Showdown!" Both Wuya and Omi spoke as one a mere instant before the ground below shifted, rising up and nearly knocking the contestants off their feet. In a flash of light, Omi, Wuya, and Konjou were standing on metal platforms, with Omi in his showdown armor. The Dragon of Water looked around – where was the trail? He heard a huff.

"Up, loser." Omi blinked at Konjou's voice – for a moment, he had a western twang – before looking up. He gawked. There was the race path, ascending towards an exit. He could see his fellow warriors up there.

"Well, this is a first," Raimundo remarked, unable to conceal his surprise.

"I'll say. I don't think I'll be racin' anyone anytime soon." Clay looked over at Jack. "Say, where's your cousin?"

"Ah, left her at home with Mom." Jack shrugged. "Mom wanted to do some 'girl things' with her."

"…and your mom didn't say anything about you leaving the house with a possible alien?"

"First of all, I told her I was going to meet some friends. Secondly – how'd you hear about that? Did Megan tell you?"

"What in tarnation are you-"

"Hey, they're starting!" Kimiko interrupted. It was true; an echo of "Gong Yi Tempai!" rose from below, and the three started moving, jumping and leaping. Omi had the obvious lead, and he was the first one to use his shen-gong-wu.

"Glove of Jisaku!" The shen-gong-wu activated – with disastrous results. It took Wuya's Butterfly and Konjou's Monkey Staff very easily. Then, to Omi's shock, the magnetic wu started pulling him down, trying to get something else he couldn't see. Konjou had a firm grip on his platform, resisting an invisible force.

"He's….magnetic?" Clay watched the scene unfolding below.

"Of course he is!" Jack rolled his eyes.

"He means wu-magnetic, Jack." Kimiko glared at Jack.

"Huh. I thought there was something weird about him."

"You should know…shouldn't you?"

"Nah. He wandered into my lab. I just fixed him up." Jack shrugged like it was nothing. Kimiko and Clay exchanged looks. Konjou was starting to sound less like a robot.

"Hey, that's cheap!" All three looked over at Raimundo – he was still watching the showdown – then looked back down. While Omi and Konjou struggled, Wuya jumped up, onto a platform over Omi, and continued going up.

Omi looked up, struggled for a second, then pulled off the Glove and let it fly at Konjou. He had a better wu. "Monkey Staff!" The fur and tail growing in an instant, Omi practically flew after Wuya. Much better. He had nearly caught up when there was a rumble below.

"Move!" Konjou nearly shoved Omi off the ledge in his attempt to claw his way higher. The other two looked down and gasped. The lava was now rising, swallowing platforms in its wake. The message was clear: no falls allowed.

Konjou scrambled onto a platform as Wuya and Omi both passed him and his eyes narrowed. He bent down, ripped off a piece of the platform, and followed. He had no intention of losing, and there had been no rule stated that he couldn't push them down a few levels.

There. The witch – what had Jack called her, Wuya? Either way, he followed her as silently as he could, the lava rising too quickly for his taste. Lava was a hui e ripera for his kind, melting them away. He hesitated for a brief second, just below the witch, before leaping up, trying to get ahead of her. He would not attack her.

The same could not be said for Wuya.

Wuya was no fool. She thought she had heard that thing approaching and, considering it was on the side of evil, decided it probably wasn't above cheating. When she heard its claws scraping the platform just below, she decided that it was going after her and she had prepared herself.

Wuya quickly spun around and kicked Konjou where he seemed most prone – the red underbelly, sending him flying into a wall. That had almost been too easy.

"Hmm. Jack's robots are getting weaker." She smirked at him and continued her ascent. Konjou glared, clinging onto the wall as the lava rose. Unthinking, he spread his wing frames and shot a red bolt at her. Now THAT she hadn't expected, he could tell. Didn't even try to dodge. He supposed he put too much power in it – it looked like she collapsed. Well, she struck first. She deserved it. He suddenly looked at his frames, crackling with power.

"…oh, yeah." He let go of the wall, hovering for just a second in the air before shooting up. Stupid lava was too close. He could feel its heat on his legs, his armor dripping down his legs. He looked down. No, not his armor – just the stuff from that disgusting container. Good.  
Omi was doing very well. The exit was about ten feet away, and he had neither seen nor heard any sign of his foes – fighting below, he supposed by the sounds he heard earlier. The Monkey Staff had proved useful. Now to finish the last few feet-

"Wha-!" He felt something metal fly past him, tearing a small hole in his showdown armor. One of the platforms. He looked down to see Konjou flying up at him, claws outstretched. Not toward him, at him. "Aaah!" He leaped down onto another platform, mere milliseconds before Konjou tore through his previous one. Metal shards went flying. In Omi's opinion, it was like those horror movies Raimundo insisted on renting.

Omi looked down. The lava was still rising, far too close for his liking. Beads of sweat rolled down his face as he looked back up at the robot. He guessed it was damaged from when it fell into the slag – one arm remained bent awkwardly. That, or it was from its fight with Wuya. Small price to pay for victory. Konjou turned in midair, glaring at Omi.

"…armor? …my…armor…give it…" Konjou made a sound like steam escaping from a severely boiling kettle. It took the Dragon of Water to realize that not only was he hissing, but also that he somehow knew he had touched that piece of scrap metal.

"Perhaps later. Wudai Neptune, Water!" The steam around Omi condensed into a stream of water, aiming right at Konjou. The robot hissed again and shot straight up. The attack followed him and slammed him into a wall, just inches from the finish line. Electricity sizzled, his already damaged arm and a leg twitching. His eyes flashed a light blue.

"Kill him." He growled in assent, tearing off a piece of armor from his damaged arm and launched it like a missile. The Dragon of Water leapt, trying to dodge the attack. Konjou's eyes flashed again, and the shard pursued Omi, finally catching a piece of fabric, right beside his stomach, and pinning him to the wall. Konjou leaned forward, ready to leap-

"Hey, Konjou, c'mon!" Konjou looked up at Jack, hesitating for a minute. Then, he raised his undamaged arm up and over the end and pulled himself out.


	6. Xyzchi

dl-sPirit: Hi everybody! Sorry about this chapter - it kinda isn't as good as the last one - but I assure you, it's necessary!

Raimundo: Unfortunately. dl-sPirit doesn't own - oh, you know the drill!

dl-sPirit: Big thanks to Luiz4200 and halfhuman123! You guys rock!

Raimundo: Ok, chapter!

dl-sPirit: ...anyone want to trade muses?

* * *

"It was awesome! Megan, you should've seen it! He even beat Wuya!" Jack waved his free hand excitedly. Megan looked at Konjou with something akin to awe. "Hey, Konjou, think you can do that every time?"

"Yeah…fix?" Konjou raised the damaged arm, trying to remind the gothic genius of what he was supposed to be doing: getting rid of the slag. Midway back, his wings had jammed up and Jack had to carry him home. He was surprised at how light Konjou was. Jack nodded and pointed the acetylene torch back at the arm.

"Hey, Jack, what does this do?" Megan held up the bronze statue.

"It's called the 'Gate Lock', or something like that. I think it can be used to cross really long distances." Jack shrugged as he melted off more of the metal waste.

"How long?"

"How shoul-"

"Planet." They both looked at Konjou in shock.

"…but, I haven't tried it yet. How do you know?" Jack arched an eyebrow. Something had always been funny about the shzamagna – besides the fact he wasn't a robot – but this took the strangeness to a new level. Konjou, though, shrugged in reply.

"Xyzchi."

"Who's Xyzchi?" Megan asked, putting down the Gate Lock like it was on fire. She wasn't interested in accidentally seeing a new planet.

"And how'd she get it?" Jack added

"Friend – kiya. Good. And…don't know." He looked at the statue. "Hmmm…"

"Hey, you're not gonna use that, are you?" Jack didn't like the idea of losing a henchman who could single-handedly beat Wuya and Omi. Konjou shook his head.

"No…save life. Owe." Jack sighed in relief. Konjou, though, looked back to the Gate Lock.

"…calling…"

"Huh?" Megan looked at Konjou. He looked at her.

"Af gruos fe." Jack almost dropped the torch. He still wasn't used to that odd language, whatever it was. All he knew was that it wasn't a modern-day language.

"Konjou? Don't do that while I'm trying to fix you. It's very distracting." Konjou nodded and leant back a bit to let Jack work.

And waited.

(--)

"I feel most ashamed, losing to one of Jack's robot," Omi said with a sigh. Dojo twisted his head back slightly, looking at the young monk.

"Hey, look, that thing was tough. It looked like it was gonna kill you-"

"Dojo, tree!" Kimiko quickly shouted. Dojo turned his head back and swerved around the large pine tree. Perhaps it would be better to save anymore conversation for the temple.

"But, really, Dojo does have a point," Raimundo started, "You saw that thing. If Jack didn't tell him to finish up, he would've torn you apart! At least we only lost the wu." Omi groaned.

"But I should not have had to worry about being killed! Jack's robots are weak!"

"Yeah, but-" Clay shrugged. "Jack didn't make him."

"But how-"

"Says the lil' doggie wandered into his house, and even he thinks he's an alien."

"…I see…" Omi paused for a minute, trying to comprehend the idea. "Did he say how he gained his loyalty?"

"Not really," Kimiko replied. "All he said was that he fixed him."

"Well, that could've been it," Clay said, shrugging. "I mean, if this guy is the source of that metal-"

"He is," Omi interrupted. "And he asked for it back during the showdown."

"-then he must've taken a right mighty fall. Who knows, maybe Jack's repairs saved his life." The other Xiaolin Dragons nodded. It made sense. Clay hesitated. "Hey, did anyone else think that battle was familiar?" Kimiko and Omi shook their heads. Raimundo thought for a moment.

"I think I saw something like it in a movie," he answered.

"That might've been it, I guess. ….hey, do you think it could be affected by any other wu, partners?"

For the rest of the ride back, the four Dragons-in-training chatted animatedly, trying to come up with strategies.

(--)

"There!" Jack put down the torch. "Fixed." Konjou flexed his arm experimentally.

"Yup...thanks." He slid off the table. Megan looked excited.

"Hey, Jack, can I play with Konjou now? Please? I've been bored all day!" Jack didn't look her way – he knew she was using her "puppy-dog-eyes". How she got so good, he had no idea, but they were irresistible.

"You have to ask him." Jack walked towards the Gate Lock, intent on putting it away – and stopped. "Hey, Megan, did you touch this again?" Megan and Konjou both turned their heads towards the wu. Megan shook her head with wide eyes. Konjou looked like he would have a heart attack.

The Gate Lock was glowing.

"Hey, Jack, what's that mean?" Megan asked, hesitating to approach the wu.

"It's…it's being used. But how?" Jack scratched his head. This made no sense. Konjou, though, started walking towards the opposite end of the lab. "Hey, where're you go-" The room was suddenly bathed in golden light. "-ing? Huh?" Both he and Megan shielded their eyes. Jack, though, heard a few things: the sounds of talons now clacking on his floor, a quiet moan, a clang, and Konjou's single word: "Xyzchi!" The light soon died down, allowing Jack and Megan to see the strangest sight in their lives so far.

Konjou kneeled on the floor, holding an unconscious odd-looking creature in one arm. The first thing Jack noticed was a bronze stature by Konjou's legs - the Gate Lock. Which was still right beside him. The second thing he noticed was the markings around the creature's eyes – it strongly reminded him of Egyptian eyes. The third thing was that it resembled some sort of animal-bird hybrid, with scruffy-looking violet feathers, a bird's legs, and ruffled tan fur. Finally, he noticed Konjou lowering the creature to the floor. He then removed the fang-like filter and put it over two slits in the creature's face – nostrils, Jack guessed. Konjou turned to them, putting one hand over the gaping hole where the filter once was.

"Methane…now." He sounded deadly serious.

"Methane?" Jack's simple question was replied to with a growl. Megan visibly jumped back.

"Ok, ok, just a minute!" He walked over to his scrap cabinet – he kept various fuels on the bottom shelf, and there was a chance he had methane or something similar – and opened it. Ok…diesel, hydrogen, gasoline, helium, propane… He almost swore. No methane. Ok, he had taken chemistry, did he have anything like methane?

He looked at the propane. Methane, propane…they sounded very similar, and he was pretty sure they acted similar too. Worth a shot. He picked up the canister carefully and walked it over to Konjou.

"Um…here you go?" As far as he could tell, Konjou couldn't read. He could be fooled. Konjou took the canister with a free hand and examined it, as if expecting it to explode. For a minute, he lowered his hand from his mouth – was it Jack's imagination, or did something glint in there? – turned the handle to send gas shooting from the nozzle, put the nozzle up to his mouth, and inhaled deeply. He coughed, golden liquid landing on the floor.

"Kinda…strong…" Konjou moved the filter from the other creature's face – probably Xyzchi – and put the nozzle, shooting the flammable gas, by her nostrils. He put the filter back over his mouth. As if on cue, Jack heard a familiar beep. He turned around, to see the shen-gong-wu detecto-bot beeping and pointing south.

"Hey, Konjou-"

"Later…please?" The shzamagna looked up reluctantly. The gothic genius groaned – he had some unconscious creature in his house, and the only one who could take care of it was his greatest ally.

"…ugh. Fine. Megan, you wanna come?" he asked. Megan looked at Konjou, who had gone back to his friend, then at Jack, and nodded. "Ok, then." Jack grabbed the Monkey Staff from the table. "Jack-bots!" The robots rose from around the lab. Konjou jumped visibly, hand on his arm. "Konjou, don't attack them. They work for me." Konjou nodded hesitantly. "Now, let's go." He slipped the Monkey Staff into the straps of his helipack, opened the basement's exit, and activated his helipack.

"Bye, Konjou!" Megan waved to the shzamagna as Jack picked her up and flew outside, followed by his Jack-bots. Konjou waved back.


	7. Awake

dl-sPirit: Geez, it's been a while since I updated...sorry guys, case of writer's block. Tried writing through it...and, if it breaks, I plan to rewriting this darn chapter. Don't own XS - or Rai, for that matter, who is Dashi knows where.

(At a bar)

Raimundo: Man, I missed this place. More soda, barkeep!

* * *

"Ok, so, we all know what we're gonna do, right?" Raimundo looked at his teammates. They all nodded.

"Yes, while Jericho distracts Jack, we use our shen-gong-wu on Konjou to see which does the most damage," Omi said. Jericho nodded, grinning.

"Good, then." Raimundo focused back on the ground below, which was rapidly rising to them. Dojo landed on the swampy ground, allowing his passengers to jump off before shrinking down and pinching his nose.

"Geeze, smells even worse the second time," He complained.

"Maybe someone's burying their murder victims here," Raimundo joked. Jericho took a step back, eyes wide.

"Don't worry, partner. He doesn't mean it," Clay said, looking around. The youngest of them still looked scared. "So, Dojo, where's the Witch's Orb?"

"Well, we put it on the branch of this big elm tree, it looked really nice…" Dojo looked at the fallen, rotting trees. "But it could be anywhere in the swamp now."

"Great." Kimiko raised her foot, trying to shake the muck off of her shoes. "I guess we're gonna split up."

"Nah. Last I heard, the place was haunted. What if one of you guys runs into a ghost?"

'Run?' Jericho signed.

"Well, besides that." Dojo sniffed the air. "The Witch's Orb…geeze, smells like our mean metal machine is nearby."

"Actually…" Omi pulled the twisted scrap metal from his robe. "During our last showdown, he did request that I give it back, and we have no use for it…" Everyone groaned.

"Fine, then, just a minute." Dojo sniffed the air once more, obviously doing his best to ignore the scrap metal. "Ok, the wu is…thataway." He pointed right. Clay picked him up, and the five started heading in the direction the dragon had pointed at, going deeper into the swamp.

(--)

"This place is creepy."

"You're telling me?"

For the cousins, the swamp, gradually growing foggier, was rather frightening, and the dull hum of the Jack-bots wasn't much help either. Every time one of the robots made a sudden sound, both Jack and Megan screamed. As if to spite them further, a low growl rumbled over the soggy ground.

"Where is it? I wanna go home," Megan said, her grip on Jack tightening.

"It's close, and you're choking me!" Jack retorted, almost dropping the detecto-bot as he tried to loosen Megan's hold on him. "Geeze, Megan, we'll go home soon!"

The Xiaolin Warriors stopped at the sound of two echoing voices. Dojo started quaking and Jericho ducked behind Kimiko.

"Are those the ghosts?" Raimundo asked, skepticism in his voice. "Sounds like they can't agree on how to scare us." There was a girly shriek.

"No…I am most certain that was Jack Spicer," Omi replied, recognizing the characteristic scream. He looked at Dojo. "Can you tell if Konjou is with him?" Dojo groaned.

"Well, his scent isn't any stronger, so I'll say…no." Everyone looked at Jericho. The African boy sighed and began signing.

'Just a minute, ok?'

(--)

Jack landed on a log, the detecto-bot beeping rapidly and pointing forward. "Ok, Megan, we're on solid ground. Now will you get off?" Megan groaned and let go, landing behind Jack. "Ok, we just need to head forward." Jack put one foot forward – and ended up knee-deep in muck. "Jack-bots – get me out!"

One Jack-bot made an odd sound, like it were groaning in annoyance, as the other combat robots pulled him out and put him back onto the log. Jack groaned, looking at his dirty trenchcoat and pants. "Great. They were just cleaned too." He shook off as much of the muck as he could. "Hey, Megan, you wait here and…uh, shout if you see the Xiaolin losers?"

"What if I see a ghost?" Megan looked around, as if expecting one to pop up.

"Then run. Not that hard." Jack rolled his eyes while Megan stared at him. He activated his helipack and hovered forward, Jack-bots following him. Megan looked around at the marshy ground, and then sat down on the log and crossed her arms.

Great...

Jack flew over the marshy ground, the detecto-bot beeping even faster. He was close all right. Then, he felt something grab his leg. Instinctively, he looked down – and screamed.

From above, Kimiko looked down when she heard the scream. "Ok, Jericho, the illusion worked – can you get rid of it?"

"Yeah, partner, you did a great job and all but – that's creepy," Clay added. Jericho sighed.

'Well, Raimundo said there were murder victims here. What did you expect?'

"Maybe something…I dunno, less bloody?"

"Hey, we got the wu, and Jack's scared out of his wits, so who cares?" Raimundo replied.

"Yeah, and – geeze, Omi, what did you put on that metal? I can't smell it any more?" Dojo asked, arching an eyebrow. Omi looked confused as well.

"…nothing. I-" He reached into his robe and felt around for a minute. "The metal! It has escaped from me!"

"Well, we know where it came from, so, really, man, it's not big deal." Raimundo shrugged. Omi sighed in reply.

(--)

"So, wait. You got scared by an illusion?" Megan asked.

"Hey, it was really creepy!" Jack retorted, rolling his eyes as he landed on his own front lawn. Megan jumped to the ground while Jack told his robots to go back to the basement.

"How do you know you didn't imagine it? My mom says you do that a lot."

"'Cause I found this." Jack held up a piece of twisted black metal. "Pretty sure it's from Konjou, and we both know he wasn't there!" He opened the door and went inside. He could smell his mom cooking dinner. "Hey, mom, what's for dinner?"

"Chicken and mixed vegetables, dear." Jack snickered at Megan's expression when she heard 'mixed vegetables'. He could hear his mom walking towards the front hall and, reluctantly, the gothic genius took off his trenchcoat and hung it up. She didn't like him wearing it inside the house.

His mother poked her head into the hallway, smiling. "Can you call Megan up from the basement, please? Dinner's almost ready."

"I'm already here, Aunt Lily." Megan replied, stepping out from behind Jack. Jack tried not to laugh at his mother's expression.

"I thought...I heard a girl downstairs." Jack's mother looked at her son. "You haven't been building any more female robots, have you? I told you-"

"I know, no more. And, FYI, I haven't." He cast his mind around for an excuse, and found one in Konjou. "But, uh…I have a new robot who can imitate people. Maybe you heard him imitating Megan." His mother looked unconvinced, but she brushed a red curl from her face and walked back towards the kitchen.

Megan and Jack looked at each other, then Jack grabbed his coat and both walked towards the basement door. There would be a few minutes, to see what was going on. The evil boy genius slowly opened the door and turned on the lights.

"OW-THAT-HURTS!" The oddly-accented male voice echoed around the room. Megan took a step behind Jack. There was a loud clatter at the bottom of the stairwell, and they looked down. Konjou had fallen up the stairs. Without thinking, Megan ran past Jack and down the stairs.

"You alright?" she asked. Jack hesitated, then walked down as well. The shzamagna was getting up and swaying slightly. He didn't seem to be quite sure where Megan was.

"Was-but-then-this-light-came-on-and-hit-me-like-BAM-and-ow-my-head-hurts-can-someone-'elp-me-up?" Jack and Megan stared, and Jack dropped the metal piece with a loud clang. It was the voice.

"…are you speaking English?" Jack said. Konjou didn't sound like him or Megan or whatever guy had the western twang. He sounded…well, weird.

"Why-you-understand?"

"Uh-huh?" Megan nodded hesitantly.

"English-huh-HEY-XYZCHI-IT-WORKED-YOUR-SPELL-WORKED!" The sudden increase in volume made Jack and Megan cover their ears.

"Not so loud, Konjou." The soft, lyrical voice came from behind. Megan and Jack looked for the source of the voice – then Megan gasped and pointed at the stairs.

"Huh?" Jack looked between the steps under his boots – and saw a pair of glowing, blue eyes.

(--)

"So…you're Xyzchi?" Jack asked before taking a piece of chicken from his plate. With some begging, he had persuaded his mom to let him and Megan eat in the basement. Xyzchi nodded, iridescent violet feathers moving with her.

Now that she was awake, Jack had a better view of her. The black markings around her eyes had faded to a dark brown. Her tan fur had been smoothed out and cleaned, as had her feathers – courtesy of Konjou, he bet. He still couldn't quite get over her appearance. She had feathers sprouting from her ears, elbows, legs (which, above all, reminded Jack of a giant chicken), and her back. Her tail feathers reminded Jack of a peacock. Over her chest and groin, she had a few pieces of cloth tied around. Most oddly, she now had a bubble around her head but there was no distortion.

"Yes, so….how do you know Konjou?" He looked over to the shzamagna, who was lazily stretched out over his table – and was incapable of much more. He had even had trouble just putting that metal piece back on. Megan sat by him, trying her best to talk with him. From what Jack could hear, Konjou was too incoherent for a real conversation.

"Caretaker. I was there when he was created. Now, Mister Jack – that is your name, correct?"  
"Yeah. And – created? He told me he was a shzamagna." Xyzchi broke out into giggles. Jack put his plate on his lap and crossed his arms. "Ok, what's so funny?"

" 'Shza' is Krakahnan for 'I am'. You just said he was an 'I am a magna'." She continued giggling. He frowned.

"Well, excuse me for not speaking Kra- whatever you called it. It's not that funny!"

"I know," Xyzchi replied between giggles. "J-just a minute." She put two of her fingers over her nostrils and, quickly, the giggling died down. She lowered her hand and sighed in relief.  
"…what was that about?"

"Mister Jack, I take it from Konjou that you demonstrate intelligence at times." Jack arched an eyebrow. Why was she avoiding his question?

"All the time, baby!"

"Then how do you not know the difference between propane and methane?" Her voice became a bit harsher.

"Uh-oh."

"On Exeatu, propane is the equivalent of the drug on Earth called 'Mary Jane'."

"You mean marijuana …so, propane made Konjou…y'know, he can't stand up for longer than two seconds and keeps acting weird." As if to prove Jack's point, Konjou tried to sit up – and fell to the floor. Jack waited while Xyzchi helped him back onto the table. "Anyways… you seem fine, and I think Konjou must've given a LOT to you."

"Unless Earth has no color and makes every word visible, I doubt it. And I KNOW I will have a killing headache tomorrow." Jack inhaled sharply. Oh boy. No wonder she was angry…..but he sure hoped she meant 'killer'.

"So…um…" Well, now was a good time to change the topic, in case she had meant what she said. "…Konjou said you have the Gate Lock?" Xyzchi nodded, holding up a tarnished bronze statue. "Yeah. How'd you get that?"

"It was a family heirloom. A human gave it to my great-great-great-great-grandfather after he helped him back to Earth." Her voice was much calmer now, which Jack guessed was a good thing. After all, he had no clue what she could do.

"How-? It just activated?" Xyzchi hesitated.

"What year is it?"

"Uh, 2007. Why?" Her jaw dropped.

"Fourteen hundred years into the past…I'll be the kid of a ripera."

"PAST?" Jack's eyes bugged out.

"Yes, past." She shrugged. "You never had a time-jump? Where everything suddenly seemed very different?"

"No, but once I sent someone into the past to save us."

"So why so surprised?" She sounded honestly curious.

"I dunno, it's still….kinda weird." Jack suddenly brightened. "What's Earth like?"

"The planet died and the Earth creatures moved to Mars." Jack blinked at her.

"….I guess that makes sense, I mean, we ain't going down without a fight, am I right?"

"Very much so." Xyzchi looked around. "It's a shame: your planet is so very low on energy, even now, it's not worth laughter about. No wonder it died." Jack wondered why she kept mutilating the English language – not like Omi did, but still awful nonetheless. After all, he guessed English was her first tongue.

"Energy? …whatever. Why do you care?"

"I need it. For spells."

"…what can you do?" Xyzchi extended her five-fingered hand; it was now Jack noted she had two thumbs.

"Basic translation and some basic elemental control. Mainly wind and earth." She shrugged. Jack figured that explained Konjou's sudden grasp of English – and maybe even her mistakes. "My resam never taught me any more."

"Oh." Jack looked down. "Um, about what you said earlier – Konjou was…created?"

"In a way. As a peace treaty of sorts. Now, one final question: has Konjou ever…acted up?" She suddenly looked nervous.

"'Acted up'?" He quoted, arcing an eyebrow.

"I take it as a no. Good." She smiled, then looked at his plate. She pointed to the mixed vegetables.

"I also take it you won't be eating those?"

"You want them, knock yourself out."


	8. Poison

dl-sPirit: Okay...well, I realize this is at least seven months overdue. I could blame school, the writer's block, the lack of any muses, my search for a beta-reader...but it doesn't excuse the overdue update! Sorry...please don't pelt me with tomatoes!

(sounds of crickets chirping)

...I don't what's worse: getting pelted with fruit, or no one caring enough to pelt me with fruit.

So, I don't own Xiaolin Showdown, this chapter is explains WHY I introduced Xyzchi, and now here's the chapter.

* * *

"Ok…now!" Jack threw the metal disk into the air. Konjou quickly took it down with an electrobolt, putting a hole in it, dead center. Megan cheered and Jack glared at him.

"Konjou, look, I'm glad you're better now, but, that was for Xyzchi." The magna looked at Jack, then at Xyzchi beside him. She seemed slightly annoyed but said nothing.

"Desris."

"Hoen, Konjou." She looked at Jack. "Just throw another one when you feel read."

"Ready," Jack corrected and picked up another disk. It was only a few hours since their highs had worn off – thank goodness, since Konjou couldn't do much for a day and a half – and Jack had wanted to see what Xyzchi could do. She had claimed to be an 'elemental magician', which he guessed was like a Xiaolin Warrior.

"Ok….now!" He threw the disk again. Xyzchi raised her arms.

"Xi monento!" Suddenly, a beast made of wind materialized and smashed the metal piece in mid-flight. Jack stared as the least returned to Xyzchi's side – an eagle-like being, but no eagle looked like that. Xyzchi nodded at it, said something too quiet for Jack to hear, and watched the air-beast dissipate. Megan cheered once more, obviously impressed, while Konjou merely shot her a look of approval.

"I'm guessing…wind?" Jack asked. "What was it?"

"A schlock." She clicked her tongue. "Next disk?" Jack hesitated. Suddenly, Konjou jumped up and fell over, twitching.

"Um, Konjou?" Megan waved a hand in front of his face. She couldn't be entirely sure, but it looked like he was glowing with a faint gold color. "Konjou, are you ok? Konjou?" Jack's detecto-bot began beeping.

"Hey, wait, new – wu?" The arrows were pointing in two different directions. One pointed north, and the other pointed southwest. That was weird, even for wu. Two wu hadn't activated at once, had they? He looked north, and saw Konjou. "…Xyzchi? Is there something I should know?"

"It be the Diestij Aca. He was a warrior king back home – how his diestij ended up on Earth, we'll never know. But it's how Konjou can regenerate his armor – we based most of his neural structure around it."

"Oh…" Jack made a note to ask Xyzchi to tell him how Konjou was created. "So-?"

"It's reactivating in him as well." She looked worried. "It may make him unwell."

"What?!"

"No…." Konjou staggered up. "…I'm fine. We should go, Master Jack."

"Yeah. Hey, Xyzchi? You coming?" Jack asked, looking at her. How could she come anyways? Flight? The wings on her back were too small, and the feathers on her arm weren't long enough.

"Yes, please." She closed her eyes, and the wind-schlock reformed. Oh. That made sense. But that didn't stop it from being the weirdest thing he ever saw as Xyzchi climbed on. Then, he felt something brush his legs – and grabbed Megan's wrist.

"Hey, where're you going?" he asked, "I figured you wanna see THIS wu."

"Uh-huh," Megan replied, "But I wanna go with her."

"What?"

"Miss Megan," Xyzchi said, concern in her voice, "I appreciate the gesture but, here, my energy is so little that this spell may wear off too quick. It that happened, you may fall to die. Please, go with your cousin." Megan groaned. Xyzchi hesitated. "When we get back, I could give you a ride."

"Ok!"

(--)

"Dies- Die- so, Dojo, what is this thing anyway?" Kimiko asked, giving up all hope of pronouncing the wu's odd name. Dojo swerved to avoid a jet plane, making the pilots hesitate and wonder if they had dozed off.

"The Diestji Aca. It's a shen-gong-wu that creates an organic, self-replenishing armor." Raimundo, Clay, Omi, and Jericho peered over Kimiko's shoulder as she unrolled the scroll to the Diestji Aca, watching the animation of a man wielding what could have been a five-pointed broadsword and….something spreading over him. Another man rushed up and tried to slash through the something, but with no success. "The armor can also be used to make metal darts."

"This sounds kinda familiar…." Clay mused.

"Hello? Jack's robot-alien-whatever?" Raimundo answered, rolling his eyes.

"Maybe." Clay sounded doubtful.

"Clay? You alright?" Kimiko asked, looking at the Texan.

"Yeah, I am." He smiled, proving his point.

"Then-"

"Good, Clay," Omi said, interrupting Kimiko. She glared daggers at him. "….what?" Kimiko just rolled her eyes as Dojo descended into the dying forest. The four warriors and the boy leaped off Dojo and the dragon shrunk down.

"Wow," Dojo remarked, looking around, "Place looked way better when me and Dashi hid this thing. Really. Nice forest, good nearby village… wonder what changed?"

"Let's see…you hid an all-powerful object nearby." Kimiko arched an eyebrow. "Maybe they fought over it." Dojo just shrugged in reply.

"Well, then, let's find it before we have to fight over it too," Raimundo said, looking around. "Now where-"

"Too late!" Jack shouted as he descended in front of him. Megan waved from behind.

"Hey guys!" she called. Jericho waved in reply.

"Jack, w-" Before Omi could finish talking, a figure dropped down in front of the warriors. If possible, Omi supposed, this new being looked stranger than Konjou. For one thing, it had a bubble around its head. For another, it looked alive. "…what is that? Your newest robot?"

"No, she's – hey, Xyzchi, show 'em!" The being – Xyzchi – nodded, then bowed slightly. She looked at the warriors and arched an eyebrow. The group exchanged glances with one another before Omi stepped forward and bowed as well.

"Good, you know rules of combat," Xyzchi said, finally speaking. Omi could help but stare – there was that odd accent again, the one from when Konjou had spoken. Wait.

"Jack, whe-" he began before Xyzchi planted her hands on the ground.

"Nanku monento!" The ground shook. Clay blinked; those words were extremely familiar for some reason, like hearing the name of an old friend. He didn't get much time to think about it. A long creature rose from the ground, consisting entirely of soil and stone. Dojo shrieked and ducked under Clay's hat. The beast flexed a set of stony claws for half a second before swinging them at Omi.

"AH!" The Wudai Warrior leaped to avoid the creature's blow and pulled out a familiar weapon. "Shimo Staff!" The rod transformed into a mace and he swung it at the creature's body. The creature howled, pawing at the freshly-made gash – for being made of dirt, it sounded surprisingly sensitive. Omi landed on the ground, grinning at his minor victory – until the gash filled itself with rock. Kimiko moved forward to help – until Jack pressed a button and robots descended from the sky, attacking the remaining warriors and the boy.

Raimundo trashed a robot, looked around, and then tapped Jericho on the shoulder. "Hey, kid?" The boy turned around, slightly confused – and had a blade swing overhead, clipping an ear. "I'm going after the wu. Cover for me, alright?" Jericho shrugged and nodded. Raimundo ran behind him into the cover of trees.

(--)

The magna walked through the dead forest. If he looked around, he would've noted some live trees – but he probably wouldn't have cared anyways. The diestji was close, very close. Now a matter of finding its exact location. He couldn't quite pinpoint it, but he could sense its power.

"There!" He looked up and saw the shiny black blade sticking up, half of it stuck deep within a rock. Natural, he supposed. Even Xyzchi said nothing in life was easy. He began climbing the large rock.

(--)

Xyzchi directed the earth monster to attack the smaller boy again, this time lashing out with a tentacle of roots. She hurriedly glanced at the others; despite Mr. Jack's protests and cries along with Miss Megan's squeals of joy, they were destroying his robots.

Wait...

The kiya did a quick count: three others, not counting the smaller one. One was missing. Not good. He could run into Konjou. She poured some extra energy into the earth monster, added a dash of wind energy - a bit of a trap if it were destroyed - and dashed into the trees after this missing person.

(--)

Raimundo kicked aside the dying underbrush as he walked between the trees. For a dead forest, there was still a lot of life. Heck, there was a new tree right there. As a matter of fact, he could see a whole cluster of new trees around that large rock up ahead. Feeding off wu power? Normally, Raimundo would've scoffed at the idea but, between Konjou and Xyzchi, he was finding it hard to.

"Sir?" He turned around to see Xyzchi standing there, worry plain on her face. He paused – she was the enemy, after all.

"…fine, what?"

"Please don't go after the Diestji, please."

"Look, Xyzchi – that's what Jack said, right? – it's a shen-gong-wu –"

"And you try to keep it out of evil hands. A noble cause." That threw Raimundo slightly off-balance.

"And, well, you and Konjou are working for the 'evil hands'-"

"Konjou owes his life to Mr. Jack, and I am Konjou's companion. So, yes, we are." Now Raimundo was thoroughly confused. She knew she was on the wrong side and thought he had a noble cause? What kind of villain was that?

"So, then, why can't I take the wu?"

"It's Konjou, he's – oh, I can't explain, just don't take it." Raimundo just shrugged.

"Well, I don't see any reason not to so, if you'll excuse me-" He began walking forward, shoving Xyzchi aside lightly – she wasn't very heavy – and was tripped, stumbling. He turned to see Xyzchi looking very mad.

"Sir, if you will not stop yourself, I will be forced to stop you for your protection."

"Oh yeah? You and what army?" Raimundo paused, mentally hitting himself. She made a twenty-foot dirt monster, why the heck did he have to ask that? Xyzchi raised her arms.

"Xi-"

"Wudai Star, Wind!" He didn't mean to do it, it was impulse; she was performing another spell, he knew, and he needed to stop her. Unfortunately, the gust was more than enough – she was knocked back into a tree and slid down, eyes closed. The bubble was gone – he had a feeling that was bad. Raimundo hesitated before walking over.

"Hey, you alright? …you awake?"

(--)

Konjou put his hands around the flat on the blade, intending to yank the ancient weapon out – and pulled his hands back, clenching them and hissing in pain. He opened his palms, surprised to find that part of his armor had melted away, revealing goldish skin, now dark from burns.

"Well, so much for that." He nodded in agreement, willing his armor to cover the damaged skin, and sat down. Xyzchi would probably come, he'd tell her what happened, and she'd get the blade out for him. She was good with this kind of odd things.

In fact, he could hear Xyzchi's voice now. He pulled himself to an edge, looking down, and saw her talking to one of the Xiaolin Warriors – he didn't know their names. The boy looked upset and shoved Xyzchi aside. Konjou bristled. No one hurt Xyzchi and got away with it.

He smirked as Xyzchi tripped the boy and got ready for her wind magic. Then, the boy did the unthinkable – he summoned a gust of wind first and hurt Xyzchi. Where was her air bubble? Did the boy destroy it? Well, it looked like he was going to finish the job.

"Kill him." He growled, eyes flashing, and he extended his wings.

(--)

Jack slapped his forehead, surveying the scene before him. All of his Jack-bots lay in pieces, Megan was cheering for the Xiaolin losers, Xyzchi and Raimundo were missing, and Konjou had yet to return with the wu. If it wasn't for Xyzchi's warning on the way here, he would've shrugged Megan off and got the wu himself. But who wanted to mess with a slightly deranged…whatever he was. So far, his only saving grace was that they still had the earth monster to deal with. He was kinda surprised; it kept fixing any damage the cue ball caused, even with his water attacks. Heck, the water made it more powerful, allowing it to trap Omi in its muddy form.

Kimiko, Clay, and Jericho threw aside the Jack-bot parts and ran to help the smallest member of their team. The creature roared, sweeping them all aside with a long root. All of them fell to the ground – and Clay decided to strike back.

"Wudai Crater, Earth!" He slapped his hands against the ground, intending to open a crack in the earth to swallow the mud monster but spare Omi – but something else happened. Instead, the creature moaned and shook, as though being torn apart – then it was, literally, torn apart by an invisible force, the mud splashing to the ground. Omi got up from the mud, and everyone stared at the puddle for a few seconds, surprised that the creature could be defeated so easily. Then, a translucent bird rose from the mud and shrieked at the warriors.

"Great-" Kimiko began before ducking the bird's dive. "Wind. Hey, Rai-" She turned around. In the confusion of the battle, she hadn't noticed Raimundo was gone. "Hey, who knows where Rai went?" Jericho raised a hand. Kimiko opened her mouth to ask him where Raimundo went but paused, seeing Clay and Omi trying to keep the bird in the air. She shot Jericho a look. "Go find him!" Jericho nodded, brushing a metal piece from his bone spikes, and ran into the dead forest. Kimiko turned to the bird, pulling out her Wudai weapon.

"Arrow Sparrow!" The attack went right through the bird, and she faintly heard Megan's whistle at the ensuing fireworks.

(--)

"Xyzchi? ….oh boy." Raimundo stood up, not sure what to do. To be fair, he had never knocked out anyone before, and. to complicate matters, she wasn't human. That was plain as those feathers sprouting from her ears.

"Um, ok, I'm gonna-OOF!" Something tackled him from behind, knocking him to the ground, face down, and away from Xyzchi. He groaned and rolled over as something sharp cut his arm, right through the robe. He winced and looked – a metal shard going though his robe near the wrist, pinning him.

"You stay AWAY from her." He looked up at Konjou – the alien looked pissed, blue eyes narrowed. Though he thought they were violet... Weird... Raimundo didn't think twice.

"Wudai Star Wind!" The gust made Konjou step back and raise an arm to deflect the strong wind slightly. Raimundo tore his robe as he pulled himself free of the metal dart and got to his feet. "Now, look-"

Konjou ignored him, shooting an electromagnetic bolt at the Shoku Warrior. Raimundo ducked, and Konjou tackled him to the ground. Raimundo could feel the robot's claws cutting into him – and was his mind playing tricks on him or could he also feel something entering the fresh wounds? He didn't get much time to think about it as the filter was pushed out by something. He could hear a faint buzzing noise, then saw a glint of silver – then something – no, four things emerged from his mouth.

_'BUZZ SAWS?! Of all the things this thing could have, it has buzz saws for teeth?'_ Raimundo struggled, pulling one hand from Konjou's grip and using it to keep the whirring mini-saws back. The alien kept getting closer as darkness ebbed at the corners of his eyes, beginning to blind him. Even Konjou's growls sounded funny in his ears, distorted and quiet. The alien's saws came closer.

(--)

Jericho walked though the trees, trying to find Raimundo. He guessed they needed him to get rid of that bird monster. Luckily for him, the ground had been soft and Raimundo had left footprints. There was another set of footprints, probably from the thing Jack had called Xyzchi. When did that thing leave? He wasn't sure if it had been there or not when he left. Point was, though, it was after Raimundo. He quickened his pace.

Soon, he heard the sounds of twigs snapping, grunts, growls – a fight. Jericho began running, emerging in a wooded area by a large rock. He could not believe his eyes. Before him, the Xyzchi-thing was passed out, and a spiky robot was trying to attack Raimundo. Raimundo, for sure, was trying to hold it back – and was failing miserably. The robot's buzz saws, definitely the strangest thing he ever saw, weren't even an inch from Raimundo's face. Jericho looked around and found a rock. That would do. He picked it up and, aiming for the robot's head, threw it as hard as he could.

The rock hit one of the wing frames, lodging itself in. The robot howled and turned to Jericho. The boy gulped, seeing murder in its eyes. He concentrated, trying to create an illusion. If the robot saw it, it showed no sign, standing up and locking its gaze on him.

"You little son of a monster." Then, it struck.

(--)

Jack looked at the warriors, struggling with the bird monster. Ok, Konjou was taking entirely too long. "Hey, Megan?"

"Yeah?" she replied, still watching them fight. She laughed as the bird knocked Clay's hat off, revealing Dojo, and tried to grab him with his talons. Jack stifled a giggle, watching the small dragon shriek and leap off Clay's head.

"Seriously, Megan, Konjou's taking too long. We're gonna see what's holding him up."

"Oh….maybe he's lost?" Jack gave Megan a pointed look and flew into the forest, Megan tightening her grip.


	9. Remembering

And we have another update

And we have another update. I'm gonna get MAULED for this one. (hops on the next plane to Europe)

I'd like to take a second to thank Luiz4200 for actually noticing that I'm continuing this in spite of myself. Sadly, all I have to show my appreciation is this crate of chocolate pudding cups. Hope you like them.

Now, I don't own Xiaolin Showdown, or else I would've had a fourth season.

"Konjou? Konjou!" Megan called. Jack gritted his teeth. Megan's idea was ok at first but now she just kept yelling in his ears and there was still no sign of the magna. Jack studied the Detecto-bot and turned to the left. The wu was left, and Konjou was going after the wu.

"So, Megan-"

"Konjou!"

"Megan!" Jack had to yell to be heard. Megan stopped and looked down at Jack. "We're getting close. Just look around."

"But-"

"Megan, really. If he's not responding, he's out or dead – and I really doubt he's dead." Jack rolled his eyes. Megan quieted down, scared of the idea. "Ok, now let's see….can't be much further." He came out into a small clearing – why were the wu always in small clearings? Really? – and heard Megan cry out in shock.

"Megan, what's-" He made the mistake of looking up. "Oh my God." He landed, letting Megan slide off. He looked around, then saw a large rock ahead. Had to be there. "…Megan? Can you go get the wu?"

"But-"

"Megan, it took out all three of these guys – and it might've taken out Konjou too, I mean, do YOU see him? I do NOT want to be here when it comes back." He looked down at Megan and upon seeing her lower lip quiver he put a hand to his face. "Ugh…I'll check them all too, see what I can do." That seemed to ease her mind somewhat – though she wasn't smiling, she was going after the wu.

Jack approached Jericho, unable to prevent himself from wincing. That looked so painful. He took off his helipack and, using one of the fans as a saw, cut through the branch. The boy fell to the ground. He checked for a pulse. There was one, slightly faint. He couldn't really do much more; the kid could bleed profusely if he pulled the tree limb out.

Next was Raimundo; except for a few long cuts on his arms and a blackish ooze dripping out, he seemed fine. His pulse was strong and, yes, he felt a bit warm, but who knew how long he had been laying there? Maybe the sun heated him up. He was fine.

Last was Xyzchi. The first thing Jack noticed was that she wasn't moving. At all. It didn't even look like she was breathing. Her bubble was gone….not good. For how long? Was she still alive? He looked around. There, by Raimundo, Konjou's filter. He picked it up and put it over her mouth. Wait…if that was here….he tried to brush it off. He bet Konjou was okay. He heaved Xyzchi over his shoulder, doing his best to keep the filter in place. He saw Megan running back, dragging a long five-pointed sword on the ground behind her and tearing up the grass.

"Got it! Hey, is she ok?" She slowed, looking at Xyzchi.

"Yeah, she'll be fine. They're all fine. Now, can we go?" Jack rolled his eyes. Megan nodded mutely, looking at Jericho and Raimundo.

"But-"

"Look, the other Xiaolin losers will find them. They always do. Now, can we go before the monster comes back?" Megan ran to Jack's side and, with a boost, clambered onto his back. "Finally!" Jack activated the helipack and flew up and away.

(--)

"Wudai Neptune, Water!" Omi aimed the water blast at the approaching wind-bird. The thing would not die, not even with Clay and Kimiko's help. Where was Raimundo? He should have been helping. He took a quick look around. The situation had just gotten worse: Jack and Megan were gone too. He darted forward, but the bird knocked him back.

Kimiko got ready to throw her Wudai Weapon when the bird shrieked. The Wudai Warriors watched in astonishment as the bird seemed to collapse on itself and explode in a gust of arctic-cold winds. For a moment, no one said anything. Then, Dojo poked his head out from his hiding spot, behind a dead tree.

"I'm guessing it's gone now…."

"Yeah, it is. Can't imagine why, though," Clay answered, picking up his hat. He shook off the dust and put it back on.

"Well…..I mean, that thing was in that…other creature, the one – what was it, oh – Xyzchi summoned. Maybe she's gone," Kimiko suggested, shrugging. It was still strange, either way. What kind of name was that, and what exactly had it done?

"So, then Jack must have found the wu…." Omi groaned. Losing the wu and nearly getting beaten in the same day was too much for the young monk. "So why isn't Raimundo back?"

"Well…I sent Jericho after him. Even if Rai did get hurt, or he couldn't find him, I think Jericho would tell us," Kimiko said, thinking for a minute. "I guess the real question is, where's Jericho?"

At this, everyone looked at Dojo. He stared back. "Why look at – oh, kid's got wu…fine, I'll try to track him." He slithered over and Clay picked him up. He then began sniffing the air, smelling for the Tiger's Eye.

"Ok….I'm detecting something…..thataway!" Dojo pointed behind Clay, a bit to the right. Clay turned, looking into the dead forest. He looked at his teammates, who shrugged in reply, and the three entered the forest in silence.

Though Dojo could detect wu, he could only trace it along a 'as the crow flies' path – in other words, he could find the shortest distance between him and the wu, but there tended to be obstacles. Here was no different. Clay and Omi kept struggling to free their legs from the thorny underbrush and Kimiko's ankles were bleeding. Dojo turned a bright red.

"Heh….sorry guys."

"Easy – for you to – say! YAH!" Omi kicked off one particularly stubborn and annoying vine.

"Yeah, I don't even see or hear anything," Kimiko added. "Are we even close?"

"Of course we are! Just wait a little, we're almost there… I think."

"Hey guys?" All three looked at Clay. "That one word that new henchman-"

"More like henchthing." Kimiko rolled her eyes.

"That one word, 'nanku'. Did anyone else recognize it?" Omi, Kimiko, and Dojo exchanged glances. They hadn't thought much of it. Clay shrugged. "Just asking." He wasn't particularly interested in telling them he knew it. Odd. Coincidence? Had to be – it was a nickname from an imaginary friend, and nothing more.

As they continued, he began to think. He didn't get much time, though, as Kimiko pushed aside a tree branch and let out a short shriek. Clay and Omi stepped forward, peering past her, and their jaws dropped.

This was a battlefield, and their friends had lost. Clumps of glass were torn up, puddles of red and black liquids now covering the dirt. Raimundo laid against the ground, still bleeding, eyes closed. His skin was abnormally pale and, unless they were mistaken, there was a short strip of metal on his face. Jericho, though, looked worse off. He was propped against a tree, held up by a thick branch going straight through his shoulder. The arm hung limp, dried blood tracing small, interconnecting paths. Neither one looked very good.

Through silent agreement, Kimiko and Omi dashed over to Jericho, if only to check for a pulse. Clay walked over to Raimundo and crouched down. The Brazilian was still breathing. A good sign. Dojo slithered off Clay's arm, looking over Raimundo.

"Wow. He'll be feeling those tomorrow." He craned his neck, pointing at the scratches. "Hey, what do you make of the black stuff?" Clay looked at the ooze.

"I dunno, partner, but I doubt it's good for Rai." He looked at the metal piece. With a frown, he tried to scratch it off. Nothing. He tried a little harder. Skin came off, widening the metal patch. His blue eyes shot wide open.

"Partners? We got a problem with Rai!" Both he and Dojo stared. Dojo looked up at Clay.

"H-hey, Clay? I-I don't think there's a w-wu that can do that." He nodded, looking at the black ooze.

"What about a poison?"

"Not any poison I've ever seen." Kimiko and Omi walked over tentatively, carrying Jericho. The boy seemed to be awake, but unaware of his surroundings. Clay decided it was better than nothing.

"We gotta get Rai back. Something's wrong-" the Texan began.

"What is that metal patch doing on Raimundo?" Omi asked, trying to get a better look at it.

"What it's doing, I don't know, but it's actually in him." The two other dragons nearly dropped Jericho. "Dojo?"

"Already on it." Dojo grew to his larger size. "Dojo Express – next stop, the medical wing of the Xiaolin Temple." Clay picked up Raimundo, and the three dragons laid their injured comrades on the dragon's back before pulling themselves on and telling Dojo to go.

As Dojo flew to the skies and Omi and Kimiko attended to the trickle of blood from Jericho's shoulder, Clay looked at the metal patch. Huh. It was the same color as a metal dragonfly Jessie kept in her room. He brushed a finger over it.

"_Daddy, can I has some chocolate?"_

"_Why?"_

"_Because the alien won't finish its story."_

"_Sure it won't. Clay, if you and Jessie want chocolate, can you just ask for it?"_

"_Ok."_

Clay jerked his hand back. That had been….strange, to say the least. He nearly forgot all about that. Why the metal reminded him, he didn't know. He sat in an uncomfortable silence the entire way back.

(--)

Clay, Kimiko, and Omi sat outside Raimundo's room. Since Jericho was stabilized and the monks assured them he would be fine, there was nothing left to do but wait for them to say the same for Raimundo. Every now and then, one of the Wudai Warriors would mention something in a meager attempt to distract them all, but then, somehow or another, the topic ended up back to the Shoku Warrior and the silence would return.

After what felt like hours, Master Fung emerged. They all leaped to their feet.

"Is Rai alright?" Kimiko asked.

"Is he awake yet?" Omi jumped up and down, trying to see past Master Fung. The elderly monk sighed.

"Clay, Kimiko, Omi – would you please come in?" At this, Omi stopped jumping and all three exchanged nervous glances. Master Fung didn't sound happy or even remotely irritated. He almost sounded sad….but, that couldn't be.

Right?

The three entered the room, its walls lighter than the rest of the temple. Raimundo laid on a mat, shivering with a small sheen of sweat on his forehead. The metal patch had grown and, to their horror, a new metal patch had sprouted on the back of his left hand.

"…is…is he alright?" Kimiko asked, forcing herself to stay put and not to run over to try and wake him. Master Fung sighed.

"I am sorry, young monks…he has been poisoned with a venom beyond our knowledge. All we do know is that it is turning him into a living statue."

"Like the Sapphire Statue?" Clay asked. Why was he getting a sense of déjà vu?

"Exactly, although I doubt he will wake up." All three looked from Raimundo to Master Fung, despair growing on their faces.

"…what?" Omi's question was no louder than a whisper. Clay pulled his hat down and Kimiko put her hands to her face. No, this had to be some demented dream. Had to be-

She felt a movement, accompanied by a small 'zing' and turned to see her hair pins strike Raimundo with a quiet tinging sound. "What the-?" Even Master Fung arched an eyebrow.

"It must be a side-effect," he murmured, trying to make sense of it. Clay stared at the pins.

And, in that moment, he knew.

--

_The five-year-old boy tripped over a stair, catching the attention of his father, who had been sitting on the porch and reading a newspaper. His father sighed._

"_What?" The boy pushed himself up, trying to remember why he had come._

"_Daddy, can I has some chocolate?"_

"_Why?" His father leaned forward._

"_Because the alien won't finish its story." His father shook his head. The boy frowned. He wondered why his father was saying no._

"_Sure it won't. Clay, if you and Jessie want chocolate, can you just ask for it?"_

"_Ok. Can me and Jessie has some chocolate?" His father grinned._

"_That's better." He went inside. Clay sat on the porch for a few minutes before his father came back out, tossing him two chocolate bars. He missed both._

"_Now you go back to your sister, ok?"_

"_Ok. Thanks, Daddy!" He hugged his father's legs, picked up the chocolate, and ran to the back of the barn. "Hey, Jessie, I-" He stopped. His sister was crying. The metallic three-horned creature stood beside her, eyes confused. "What'd you do?"_

"_Nothing!" it cried with a western twang – an imitation of Clay's voice. "She… looking…" It pointed to a metal dragonfly at Jessie's feet. "Asked!"_

"_Jessie?"_

"_I…I was wooking at the bug and it cut it and then it became too shiny and now it won't move and it's all hot!" Jessie continued crying. Clay stepped towards the metal insect and jumped as it suddenly zoomed at the horned creature, sticking to its metal skin. He gave it a stern look._

"_Sowwy…helping." It shrugged. Clay sighed._

"_Jessie, it thunk you wanted it…it made a present." It nodded in agreement, pulling off the metal insect. Jessie wiped her eyes. Clay handed her one of the chocolate bars. "See? Another present!" That cheered her right up. She took off the wrapper and began eating. Clay opened the second one, broke it in half, and handed one half to it. "More story?" It took off its teeth and put the chocolate bar in its mouth._

"_More story."_

--

"Konjou's poison."

Everyone looked up at Clay in confusion. He shrugged. "I think I've seen it before, except it was a dragonfly. Jessie still keeps it in her room."

"But then why would it be Konjou's poison? This is the first time we have ever seen a being like him." Omi crossed his arms, as if daring the Dragon of Earth to defy his logic. Clay rubbed the back of his neck.

"Well, to make a long story short, I….might've seen him before. I just need to talk to…the other one."

"Zee-key, or whatever it was?" Kimiko asked, arching an eyebrow. "What does she have to do with this?"

"Just trust me. I'm more sure of this than I'm sure of Aunt Lily's secret recipe for apple pie." Omi and Kimiko looked at each other and shrugged before Kimiko took out her PDA.

"Hey, what's with-" She looked at Raimundo, then back at the blue screen. "…oh. We need to get out." She looked at the elder monk. "Thank you Master Fung." She made a short bow and left, followed by the other two dragons.


	10. Beserker Mode

...I'll confess, this is mainly a filler chapter. Although it should clear up everything you ever wanted to know about Konjou. I'd like to take a second to thank Luiz4200 for continuing to faithfully review my story. Luiz, you rock. Really.

I never owned _Xiaolin Showdown_, and I never will. Sadly.

* * *

"Ok, tell me again, WHAT happened?!" Jack shouted, somewhere between incredulous and terrified. Xyzchi shook her head, orange liquid slicking off her fur – apparently, her way of crying.

"I don't know! I tried to stop the Xiaolin Warrior from getting the Diestji before Konjou hurt him and then he attacked me and I blanked out!" The redhead decided to correct her and muttered "Blacked out..." Receiving a grateful nod from the alien she then continued from where she was interrupted, "I don't know what hurt HIM!" Her small body shook. Megan watched from the top of the stairs – though she was supposed to tell Jack if his mom came home, right now, she was too worried about Xyzchi. The poor thing looked terrified. "But what do you mean K…K…" She appeared to be choking on her own words. Jack sighed, putting a hand to his face and trying to will himself to calm down. It was bad enough he cried, but if word got out that his latest assistant cried as well – as if his evil reputation wasn't already down the toilet.

"Look, Xyzchi, something beat up two of the Xiaolin losers – they looked AWFUL – left you unconscious and left this-" He held the filter before Xyzchi's air bubble. "-behind. How could you not know what happened?" Xyzchi stared in horror at the filter.

"Oh, no… how awfully-beaten were the two?"

"Well, one was impaled on a branch and the other had some nasty scratches." Xyzchi put her hands to her face, eyes wide. "What?" Megan leaned over the railing. Jack hadn't mentioned the filter to her. The fact that the filter really did resemble teeth, as though someone had simply punched Konjou in the face, did little to soothe her.

"B-berserker…" The alien broke down, sobbing. Jack groaned. Great. And Konjou was still missing. He couldn't get another word out of the alien even if he had some shen-gong-wu that forced people to tell the truth.

Megan looked at Xyzchi sadly. She had to feel bad – Jack had been in hysterics the moment they got back and he realized Konjou hadn't just come back before them. So, when Xyzchi woke up, he began nothing short of an interrogation, complete with the metal table and single bright light, just like on TV. And Xyzchi had to be lonely – here, she was the only one not from Earth. She watched Jack step away.

"Megan, look, could you get Xyzchi a snack? Like, I dunno, carrots?" She nodded and left the evil lair/basement. Jack looked back at Xyzchi – then heard the static of a computer turning on. Not surprisingly, this was the one with the communication lines. Was he being hacked? He watched the screen as the static changed to a picture of Omi, Kimiko, and Clay, all uncomfortably close to the screen. He frowned.

"Hey, mind backing up a little? What do you want?" The evil boy genius crossed his arms. They all took a step back – good, now they weren't so distorted – and Clay spoke.

"Hey, can we talk to the lil' gal you brought with you earlier?" Odd. With the metallic echo from his speakers, Clay almost sounded like Konjou. He looked at Xyzchi.

"Um, I think she's kinda busy. Call back later." He waved a dismissive hand. "Now shoo."

"No." The alien began smoothing her fur. "I can talk." She hopped off the light table and approached the computer screen, her talons clicking on the tiles. "Mister Jack, do they see me?"

"Um, yeah." Jack looked at them. "Hey, what do you guys want anyways?"

"We need to ask her a few questions about Konjou," Omi replied. Xyzchi shook her head.

"As much as I would love to be of assisting-"

"Assistance," Kimiko said out of habit.

"Thank you. Well, I simply cannot give away information about Konjou to those who are not involved in his life." She shrugged. Both Kimiko and Omi looked at Clay. Clay cleared his throat.

"Um, did Konjou ever know anyone he called 'Nanku'?" At Clay's words, Xyzchi brightened.

"Yes – in fact, when Konjou crash-landed on his planet after a mistimed galactic jump, Nanku and his younger sibling Yessie..." Jack, at that point, swore he heard Clay mutter "Jessie" quietly to himself. "...accompanied him until he left. I dearly wanted to meet them, but I could not arrive on planet and, by the time I had enough energy for the jump, Konjou had jumped back and so I never met them." She sighed. "Truly, it was a shame they were never thanked properly."

"Well, we were ok. We just convinced ourselves he was imaginary," Clay remarked, shrugging. Xyzchi, Jack, and Megan, who had just returned with that carrot, looked at Clay with surprise. "You see, I was Nanku." Everyone winced as Xyzchi released a shrill cry of joy.

"The blessings of the Magician and Warrior upon you and your family! You were the ones who saved Konjou so long ago!"

"Hey, how come you didn't give me all this 'blessing' stuff?" Jack asked.

"To be fair, Nanku never gave Konjou propane."

"That was an accident!"

"Look, Xyzchi? We need help. Looks like Konjou poisoned Rai – and I don't doubt that he's the one who attacked Jericho," Kimiko interrupted. "You know this guy pretty well, right? Any way to get rid of the poison?" Xyzchi tilted her head.

"Inside his chest is an antidote. I put it in there for incidents such as these, so he could not destroy it." Jack groaned as he saw the orange liquid come back. "But you cannot have it." The Xiaolin Warriors gawked.

"What do you mean?" Kimiko's face grew red.

"We demand an explanation!" Omi added. "Let us speak to him at once!"

"You can't, oh Great Bald One," Jack retorted, rolling his eyes. "He's missing!" Xyzchi sighed.

"So, mind telling us, Xyzchi? Why can't we have it?" Clay sounded torn between anger and sheer confusion.

"Would it kill him?" Megan asked, clutching the carrot.

"No, Miss Megan, it wouldn't." She brushed some of the liquid from her fur and smiled at Megan in a vain attempt to raise her spirits. "I only fear that it would kill them." Everyone blinked a few times.

"Um….how?" Clay asked, voicing everyone's thoughts. Xyzchi turned back to the monitor.

"From what Mister Jack said, I have gathered that Konjou is in his secondary mindset, Beserker mode." She looked around. "How to explain…Konjou was made with the Diestji of Aca, a powerful weapon with one drawback – its use calls evil spirits that speak to its holder."

"So, what? He's schizo? OW!" Jack winced as Xyzchi kicked at him, talons tearing his pants. Megan looked shocked at the sudden movement.

"They only speak during great stress and do NOT originate in his mind. He is NOT 'schizo', whatever that says!" She panted for a minute, glaring. The Xiaolin Warriors actually scooted back from the PDA monitor. That had been…unexpected, and a bit frightening. The alien turned back to them, the anger already replaced by a small smile.

"As I was saying, Konjou was made with the Diestji of Aca-"

"But didn't you say he was a magna or something like that?" Megan asked, instinctively taking a step back. Xyzchi groaned in exasperation.

"Yes. He is, but he was created as a joint projection-"

"PROJECT." Jack rolled his eyes.

"Translation is tricky! Anyways, a joint project between Earth, Exeatu, and Irk – an ultimate warrior with self-healing and innate knowledge on fighting. The Diestji, Earth's contribution, was seen as a way to check both points. It did the job. Very well." Xyzchi sighed. "The moment he woke up – well, sixteen strangers, all very different from him, very stressing.

"He went into Berserker mode and dismembered fifteen of them."

A long, awkward silence settled among all of them. Megan couldn't but to wonder how Konjou, the same Konjou who jumped rope with her and played tag could be so destructive. Jack mentally swore at his own luck, having a killer robot and never actually using it. Clay, Omi, and Kimiko were all in shock while feeling slightly relieved at the fact that at least Jericho and Raimundo were alive and in one piece.

"…..what about the sixteenth?" Megan broke the silence, talking in a low voice as though she feared Konjou would come in and kill her.

"I. I was hiding under a table. The fifteenth worker, he struck Konjou between the wings with a chunk of cement before his dead. It struck Konjou between the wings, just where the Diestji protruded-" Jack thought back to his first morning with the magna.

"And it knocked him out?" he finished. Xyzchi looked mildly surprised.

"…Yes. He soon recovered, and didn't know what happened. I found it better to let him believe a monster did it." She shrugged. "Even you must admit, from what you've found, it's correct." Omi nodded grimly.

"So, what, if we go after that antidote, he'll try to kill us?" Kimiko's statement came out as a question.

"Certainly." Xyzchi paused in thought. "Unless you can strike the Diestji. It seems to trigger a reaction that…..I believe the term is 'resets', yes, it resets him."

"Yeah, you guys do that," Jack said. Kimiko glared.

"Hey, this is your fault. You can at least help."

"What do you mean? From what Xyzchi told me, this is Raimundo's fault. He's the one who pissed off Konjou!" He cringed as Kimiko's glare intensified. "Well, I can't help, you guys destroyed all my robots and Xyzchi's too weak."

"I hope you mean I'm too exhausted," Xyzchi retorted.

"See? You're so stressed you're even snapping over nothing now!"

"How do we find him?" Megan asked. Everyone looked at Xyzchi. She blinked.

"I'm a companion, not a magical detector. Besides, when's he's like this, he doesn't have any magic TO detect. It all gets…" She shrugged, unable to find the right term, and crossed her arms in thought. "It's a bit of a problem." It was then that the proverbial lightbulb over Jack's head went off.

"Hey, I know!"

"That's a first," Megan teased. The Wudai Warriors could not resist laughing. Jack glared.

"Geez, help someone and this is what you get." He rolled his eyes.

"And how are you helping?" Omi asked between chuckles. Jack waited until the laughter died down.

"Well, when Konjou first came to me, he couldn't fly. I had to make some adjustments using my own parts. Since you guys keep tearing them apart and sending them who knows where, I've modified my parts to reflect sound waves. You know, kinda like sonar." Jack smirked as everyone stared at him incredulously. "Told you I was a genius! Take THAT!" He pumped his fist in the air, beginning his victory dance.

"Just look and we won't kill you later," Kimiko replied dryly. The evil boy genius stopped in mid-dance, hurrying over to a different computer. Megan, finally getting tired of holding the carrot, walked down the stairs to Xyzchi and held out the orange vegetable.

"Here. Sorry about Konjou." Xyzchi let a smile play across her face.

"Oh, it's nothing. I know he doesn't mean it. He just has a few wires crossed." She looked back up at the Xiaolin Warriors. "Still, I must apologize for his actions. I hope your friends make it."

"They probably will. We're all fighters," Clay replied, tipping his hat. "Thanks anyways."

"Hey, I got it! WHOO-HOO! I am da MAN!" Jack began his victory dance again – and stopped as he read the words on the screen before him. "Hey, guys? I got something that'll strike fear into you – something worse than squirrels." He looked up, just in time to catch Omi cringe. "A phrase to strike terror into you for generations: he's in Yellowstone National Park."

(--)

The sun was setting. The couple watched from their car, smiling. A perfect, if perhaps overdone, way to end a date. They leaned against each other.

"I never want this to end," the girl whispered.

"Me either." The young man gave her a peck on the forehead. She giggled – then frowned, looking in the rearview mirror.

"Um, Kyle? I think there's something behind us." Kyle leaned over, looking at the mirror.

"Baby, loosen up, it's just the world's ugliest dog." The girl giggled.

"I guess." Kyle smiled – then, the car shook, the sound of metal tearing painfully loud. Both jumped.

"What the hell was that?" the girl shouted. Kyle looked back into the rearview mirror. The dog was gone. Something with a red glow was tearing up the trunk. He turned the key, letting the engine roar to life, and backed over the thing with two loud bumps. There, now it was in front of them. Odd, it didn't look much like a dog now, even with the tail. The girl stared.

"…what is that?" she asked. He shrugged. Then, the thing got up, standing on two legs, eyes glowing in the dimming light. Something from its sides appeared, like glowing red wings.

"…Baby? I don't think it's a dog." The creature lunged at them and they screamed. Kyle hit the gas, turning the car around and sped off as fast as he could, not daring to check his side mirror to see if it was pursuing them. There was a loud metallic shriek, the sound of metal tearing, and then no more. Neither dared to check why, only heading for the highway.

(--)

Dojo looked over at the Wudai Warriors. "Let me get this straight: there's a killer robot on the loose with a shen-gong-wu and you DON'T want me to come? I mean, it's great, but, why?"

"Xyzchi says he's undetectable now," Clay replied, putting a few shen-gong-wu in his hat – the Sphere of Yun, the Star Hanabi, and the Golden Finger. "Besides, one less guy coming means we have to watch one less guy. No offense, lil' partner."

"Trust me, none taken." Dojo watched Omi activate the Silver Manta Ray. "Just promise to come back in one piece, ok? I don't want to explain to your parents what happened."

"Gotcha." Clay put his hat back onto his head and walked to the silver machine. One shot at this, just one. He dreaded to consider the alternative. He climbed into the cockpit. Omi jumped in after him. Kimiko began to pull herself in when she saw a burst of color before her. Great…that meant… she turned to see Jericho emerging from the temple, an arm in a sling and shoulder wrapped in bandages.

'I want to come too,' he signed, struggling to 'talk' with only one hand. The Dragon of Fire sighed.

"Jericho, you can't. That thing nearly killed you before-"

'Which is why I want to go.' He put his unbound hand on his hip. Kimiko thought for a minute.

"Jericho, you can't come… face it; out of everyone else here you're the only one who can use a cell phone." Surprise sprung across the boy's face, and she continued. "We need someone to keep an eye on Rai, let us know if he gets any better or worse." She pulled her cell phone and tossed it at Jericho. He fumbled for a minute before catching it, and studied it. He then put it in his sling.

'I guess I could stay.' His uninjured shoulder shrugged. Kimiko smiled.

"That's the spirit. Thanks, Jer." She pulled herself into the cockpit of the Silver Manta Ray. With something akin to hopelessness, Jericho watched the silver shen-gong-wu take off.


	11. Forever

* * *

Ok, then, folks. Final chapter! YAY! (insert sounds of party here)

(insert sounds of crickets there)

Okay, then, so you're not as excited...but I guarantee you, this is my best chapter - really! Anyways, I want to thank Luiz4200 for sticking with me through this and everyone else who took the time to read this. You guys rock.

I don't own _Xiaolin Showdown_. Now if I could only find Raimundo...

* * *

The Silver Manta Ray landed on a rocky clearing, the only free space Clay could find, and the Wudai Warriors leaped out, armed to the teeth with shen-gong-wu

The Silver Manta Ray landed on a rocky clearing, the only free space Clay could find, and the Wudai Warriors leaped out, armed to the teeth with shen-gong-wu. The Manta Ray shrunk down and Clay placed it inside his hat. They were more than willing to do whatever it took to hunt down and capture Konjou – Jericho had called minutes ago. Raimundo was getting worse.

"Ok, then…which way do we go?" Clay asked. They looked around the darkened national park. Splitting up was too dangerous, as painfully proved by Raimundo and Jericho. Still, they couldn't just blindly go off in one direction – this was a big place. Searching for him without any ideas could take weeks. Kimiko sighed and took out her PDA.

"Hey, Jack? Jack, are you listening? ….JACK SPICER!"

"ACK! Ok, I'm here, I'm here! Jeez!"

"Where were you? We need help getting a location on Konjou."

"Just helping Meg pack, she goes home tomorrow." He looked up, whispering an audible 'Thank you, God', and then looked back at Kimiko. "Look, I don't think I can get much more accurate. Lots of trees, other machines…." Kimiko sighed, walking forward to survey an area.

"Try again."

"Wha-" There was static. "-ay? –you." The Dragon of Fire looked down to see the signal breaking up. An idea hit her.

"Jack? Konjou is magnetic, right?"

"-Kon--netic?"

"Yeah."

"Uh-hu-" The signal broke off. Kimiko allowed herself a triumphant smile. She turned to Clay and Omi. They stared back, blinking a few times.

"Sometimes, magnetic fields can get in the way of phone calls. Maybe Konjou isn't magical any more, but he's still magnetic. We can follow his trail." She noticed Clay fastened his belt buckle. "Don't worry, I don't think it's THAT strong." She looked down. "Ok, so he's…this way." She leaped down the rock face, following the static. Clay and Omi looked at each other, then followed Kimiko down into the darkness.

(--)

As the forest grew even darker as the night wore on, Kimiko lit up the Star Hanabi to light their path. Clay used the light to look around; though he had never been to Yellowstone, he expected to see some animals, maybe even hear an owl's hooting. There was nothing. Except for the branches' cracking beneath their feet, the trees were silent.

"…anyone else getting that weird sense of déjà vu?" Kimiko asked, waving her wu around to look further. Omi shrugged. Clay nodded.

"Just like Jericho." He looked up – yup, even an empty bird nest. Omi stepped under it, craning his neck to get a better view.

"Odd – the nest seems-" There was a quiet sound and Omi stepped back, groaning, wiping his face on his robes. "It SPIT on me!" Clay wiped a gloved finger over the slimy substance.

"No…just a broken egg." That seemed oddly ominous. "C'mon, we can't stay in one spot for too long. Bears and wolves, you know."

"Why do I doubt that'll be an issue?" Kimiko asked, rolling her eyes. She walked ahead. Clay handed Omi his handkerchief and they followed. No one wanted to be left alone right now.

(--)

"They're intruders." He nodded, eyes narrowed. "They'll kill you." Another nod of assent. A moment of silence, watching the light approach.

"Get them first."

(--)

They continued in silence. Talking felt too awkward, too forced. The silence pressed on them. The shadows flickered around them, monstrous creatures formed of wood and darkness. A putrid smell began to fill the air. Omi began walking a little faster, get to the front of the group, and collided with Kimiko's leg. He fell to the ground, rubbing his head. Clay picked him up, putting him on his feet. Finally, the silence broke.

"Kimiko, I am most sorry-" Omi stopped. Kimiko wasn't moving, not even to glare at him. "Kimiko?" He tilted his head – and held his nose.

"You all right, partner?" Clay asked. This wasn't normal. Was it his imagination or was she shaking? He approached her. "Kimiko-" He stopped, suddenly feeling very sick between the sights and sounds. He heard Omi approach as well and his cry of shock.

Before them, impaled on a branch was a grey wolf. Though Clay himself wasn't fond of them (they were related to coyotes, which always caused trouble on the ranch), this one had been killed in an especially cruel manner. It was bad enough that the…thing that killed it impaled it – it tore open its stomach and festooned the trees with organs and blood. The putrid scent of death was now at its strongest, assaulting their noses. Everyone pinched their noses, nothing short of disgust filling them.

"…h-him?" Kimiko finally stuttered. Clay looked around – no movement, good – and approached the body.

"Looks like it….ugh." He pulled away. "Geez, how do you go from poisoning dragonflies to THIS?" Kimiko shrugged in reply. Omi looked around, his disgust only growing, and spied a glint. He furrowed his brow, reaching into his robe.

The sound of metal ripping echoed around them. Clay turned and saw something fly right at him. He yelled in surprise, rooted to the spot.

"Shard of Lightning!" There was a quick yank and he was standing at Kimiko and Omi's sides, Omi grinning triumphantly as he held up the blue shen-gong-wu. A piece of metal shrapnel quivered in the tree just behind where Clay stood. Omi looked up towards where the metal had come from. He could end this right now.

"Shard of- WHA!" A red jolt of electricity knocked the wu from his hand. He winced, looking at the small burns on his hands. Red electricity now illuminated the blood-soaked alien's wing frames, its vivid blue eyes narrowed in contempt. The mouth, once appearing fang-filled, was now just a gaping hole. He looked at the blue shen-gong-wu on the ground and shot another jolt of electricity, sending it flying. It ended up stuck in a tree trunk, not even half of it visible.

"Star Hanabi, Fire!" Kimiko threw the golden wu. Konjou leapt from his position and onto another tree branch, taking a second to watch the tree ignite.

"Big Bang Meteorang!" He turned in time to see the metal boomerangs flying at him, inches away. No time to dodge. Instead, he summoned a magnetic field, repelling the powerful weapons. That had been close. They had been right, these three were out to get him.

"Orb of Tornami, Ice!" Omi pointed the orb first at the fire, then at Konjou. If he could freeze him up, or at least distract him, their odds would be much better. The magna reacted as expected – it leaped to another tree branch.

"Sphere of Yun!" Clay aimed the shen-gong-wu at Konjou. Acting on some unknown direction, Konjou dropped from the tree and retreated into the shadows. The Wudai Warriors stayed close.

"He's not gone, is he?" Kimiko peered into the shadows, trying to find Konjou. Clay shook his head.

"Even when he was normal, he loved to fight. Me and Jessie had the hardest time making sure he never hurt anything." Clay waited, putting the Sphere of Yun back under his hat and taking out the Third-Arm Sash. He couldn't take any more chances – no metal.

"Did you ever succeed?" Omi thought he saw a movement to his left.

"Well, we kept him from attacking Daddy. That was something." Clay remained poised, ready to strike – just before Kimiko fell. He turned, eyes wide. "What in tarnation?!" Two metal darts, one caught on her shirt, the other embedded in her stomach. Konjou was perched above, breathing heavily, red skin visible on his arms. He narrowed his eyes and leapt at Clay. Omi reacted first.

"Golden Finger!" He pointed the wu at the alien, who stopped in midair. Clay blinked, then sidestepped the attack before kneeling down to look at Kimiko. She was still breathing – it was pained, but the fact she was breathing was enough to ensure she was alive.

"Hey, Kim? This isn't worth it. We gotta get you out of here." Kimiko looked up.

"B…..but-" Time returned at full speed as Konjou landed on the ground and he swiped at the two. Clay flinched away, and the claws only cut his arm. A small price to pay.

"Shimo Staff! Hyah!" Omi leapt at Konjou, swinging the water mace at him. The spikes connected with the gash in the right arm and he staggered backwards, obviously in pain. Well, that had worked. He raised his arms, remembering an earlier battle. "Wudai Neptune, Water!" A wave of water rose over the magna and came down, water splashing everywhere. Clay rubbed a few droplets off Kimiko's face before looking at Konjou.

He was still standing.

His wings had gone out and his arms were twitching uncontrollably, but the magna still stood, blue eyes hateful. Omi stood, shocked. How did he survive it? How?

Miniature buzz saws emerged from Konjou's mouth, and he lunged at Omi. The young warrior yelped and jumped to the side. Clay arched an eyebrow. That was a new one. Konjou turned to chase Omi, and Clay saw it.

"Hey, Omi! Think you can keep him busy?" he called. Omi leapt off a tree as the buzz saws sliced through the bark.

"I can – AH! – try!" The magna should, at the very least, be exhausted. Omi wondered what in the name of Dashi kept him going. He decided insanity. Clay laid Kimiko back on the ground and stood up.

"Ok, Omi, just stay in this spot for a minute, got it?" Omi stared at Clay as though he had four heads. "Trust me, I know what to do!" Again, Omi dodged another attempt to slice him up, and leapt to a new tree trunk. He began climbing up.

"If you want a part of my body…" Omi shouted, allowing a smirk to come to his face. Clay decided now wasn't the time to tell him it was 'a piece of me'. Konjou turned, a metallic snarl escaping him, and leapt at the tree. He clawed at the tree and flexed his wings, futilely trying to reach the Dragon of Water who taunted him. His hands jerked, pulling away and hitting the tree, and his wings sizzled, only sparks forming. Clay wondered for a moment if Omi had planned it from the very start.

Clay snapped out of his thought and pulled out a new shen-gong-wu. One shot at this, or he'd be next. He focused on the gem protruding from the magna's back and leapt.

"Fist of Tebigong!" The magna didn't react in time as the metal wu struck the gem, pushing it in with a loud crack. Omi watched as the magna froze up, eyes wide. Then, the eyes dimmed to violet and Konjou fell to the ground in a crumpled heap. For a minute, the two males stared, expecting for him to leap up and attack. Nothing.

"Sphere of Yun." Clay finally took out the shen-gong-wu and trapped Konjou in an iridescent bubble. Omi scampered down the tree to check on Kimiko.

It was over.

(--)

"Are you ready?" Omi held his breath, hoping that Jack's idea would work.

"Yeah." Kimiko held the jade-colored wu. "Serpent's Tail!" She pushed her intangible hand into the chest of the tied-up, glaring magna. He winced.

"Heart!" Kimiko quickly retracted her hand slightly. Clay and Jericho watched the scene from the doorway.

'You mean it? Once he woke up, he was FRIENDLY?' Jericho signed. Clay nodded.

"For about five minutes. Then he was back to glaring at us." Jericho shrugged his uninjured shoulder

'I suppose it's a good thing he listens to Jack.' Jericho snickered as the magna yelped – apparently, Kimiko had actually grabbed the Diestji that time. 'I mean, can the Serpent's Tail go through the Sphere of Yun?'

"Yeah but, if it's not there, it's much easier." He looked at Konjou, who was sitting quietly, the only reason being that Jack told him to. Still, just in case, Clay had decided to bind him, just so he couldn't strike them.

"Got it!" Kimiko triumphantly pulled a vial of white liquid from Konjou's chest. He tilted his head in curiosity.

"Then let us take it to Master Fung! We must make sure Raimundo will be all right!" Omi exclaimed, jumping once. Jericho nodded in agreement, already rushing out of the doorway.

"You guys go ahead. I'll be right there," Clay said. Kimiko, Omi, and Jericho looked at him, then at each other, and shrugged before running out. The Dragon of Earth watched them go, then looked at Konjou.

"You know, I never would've guessed you to be on the side of evil." Konjou, for a moment, showed his buzz saws before retracting them. "I mean, you always spoke of honor and stuff."

"To serve my savior IS honorable." The magna sat up a little straighter. "You act as though you know me."

"My name's Clay." He looked at Konjou, who seemed to have a glint in his violet eyes, one of memory. "You didn't understand, so I showed you some and you called me-"

"Nanku," Konjou finished. He nodded. "You have changed…"

"I guess." Clay leaned back. "Then again, I guess you have too." Konjou didn't reply. "Tell me, is it always gonna be like this, partner? Just fighting each other, old friends, for the rest of our lives?"

"I serve Master Jack. His enemies are my enemies. I cannot serve another master until he dies."

"So, foes forever?"

"Most likely…" Konjou leaned back. He had nothing more to say. Clay looked at him one last time, sighed, and left the doorway.

(--)

"Is it working? Is it working?" Omi jumped up and down, trying to get a better view of the Shoku Warrior. On the last jump, Kimiko held out a hand above Omi, letting him hit it. He fell down.

"Look, just wait a minute." Though her concern wasn't as…enthusiastic as Omi's, she was still worried nonetheless when she saw how much the metal patches had spread. Master Fung gave him the antidote and now it was a matter of waiting and seeing what happened. Jericho hovered by the cot anxiously. Clay entered the room.

"Anything yet?" Jericho jumped from his spot while Kimiko shook her head.

"He's not waking up, the metal isn't falling off…" She sighed.

"Do you think Jack would lie about that antidote?" Omi mused.

"Jack? Yeah, he's a real snake in the grass. Xyzchi, though…never really met her, but I think she's trustworthy." Clay leaned against the door. Jericho looked back down, and the patch on his chest glowed. Bursts of color filled the room, and Clay, Omi, and Kimiko looked at him.

'She was right!' He pointed to Raimundo's face. The metal on his cheek was rusting and peeling away, revealing skin underneath – raw skin, but actual skin nonetheless. 'It's coming off! He'll be ok!' The three Dragons cheered. Raimundo was alive; they had won the battle-

Glass shattered outside, and the wailing alarm interrupted their celebration. Omi ran out the door, looking around for the intruder. Clay peeked out.

"Don't bother, partner." The Dragon of Earth pointed to a reddish dot in the night sky that was slowly growing smaller. "Just Konjou going now."

The battle was won; the war was far from ending.

(--)

"So, Berserker mode, huh?" Jack looked over at Xyzchi, who was playing with Konjou's filter.

"Yes. Uncontrollable, so don't even TRY inducing it." She looked up, eyes narrowed. "I mean it."

"Ok, fine." Jack held his hands up. "You have my word." Xyzchi shrugged.

"I suppose I could take that." There was a quiet thump above. Xyzchi and Jack looked up.

"…that him?" Jack scratched his head. "Thought I told him-"

"-to stay, so the Xiaolin Warriors could remove the antidote. They must have removed it, and so he didn't have to stay." Xyzchi slid off the light table. "I wish to check on him."

"Eh…yeah, I wanna see if he took any wu." Jack ran up the stairs, closely followed by the alien.

(--)

Megan sat on her suitcase, pushing down with all of her energy. The metal clasps refused to meet. She crossed her arms – well, if her suitcase couldn't close, she couldn't leave.

There was a quiet thump outside her window. Megan turned – and fell off of her suitcase in shock. Konjou was perched outside on the windowsill, a gaping hole where his 'fangs' once were. He tapped the glass once. For a moment, Megan didn't move. If he was still hurting people…

She looked at his eyes, bright against the night. Violet, filled with confusion. He wanted to know why he couldn't come in. No bloodlust. With a sigh, she pushed herself up, walked over to the window, and opened it. Konjou pulled himself in.

"Thank you, Miss Megan." His gaze wandered over to the opened suitcase. "Hm?" Megan smiled.

"Hey, um, Konjou, could you get that closed? Please?" Konjou looked over at the suitcase and touched the metal clasps. It sprung shut so fast, Megan jumped at the loud 'thump' it made.

"Will that do?"

"Yeah." Megan walked over to the suitcase and sat down on top of it. Konjou sat on the floor beside her.

"What is it?" He pointed to the large, traditionally-styled bag.

"It's a suitcase – you know, if you want to bring your stuff to other places." Megan began to visibly relax. He really did sound like his old self, the self that had wanted to know what a butterfly was.

"Where are you taking your 'stuff'?" For a moment, Konjou's voice lapsed and Megan heard her own imitated. She guessed 'stuff' didn't exist in his language.

"Home."

"..isn't this home?"

"No, just my aunt and uncle's house. My mom's gonna pick me up soon."

"So….you won't be here?"

"No."

"Oh." Konjou looked down. Megan frowned – he almost looked upset. Maybe-

"Konjou!" The kiya darted into the room and grabbed Konjou's arm. "Are you alright? You don't need another translation spell, do you?"

"Why would I?" He tilted his head. Megan giggled as Xyzchi turned bright orange.

"No reason….here." She held out the filter. Konjou took it and popped it back into place. There, now he looked normal.

"So, no more collateral damage?" Jack spoke from the doorway. "I mean, it sounded kinda cool, but it was gory-"

"What are you talking about?" Konjou interrupted. Both Megan and Xyzchi shot Jack an evil look. He sweatdropped.

"I mean….the monster's gone, right?" Yeah, use what Xyzchi said. Konjou nodded. "Good." He looked at Megan. "Mom wants to know if you ever finished packing."

"Yeah." Megan slid off her suitcase. "What time is it?" Jack checked his watch.

"Um, about 11. Why?"

"I'm not tired yet. Can we play in your lab again?" Jack arched an eyebrow.

"Play what?"

(--)

"Cinderella, dressed in yella'-"

"-went downstairs to kiss her fella."

Jack groaned, leaning over a broken robot and soldering back on a buzz saw. It was bad enough Megan had made Konjou jump rope. Now she had him reciting jumping rhymes. Xyzchi leaned against the table where he worked and snickered, a smirk playing on her face.

"What's so funny?" Jack looked up at her.

"You may want to record this some way – this may be the only time you ever see Konjou humiliate himself."

"Not likely. I heard my mom on the phone, talking about letting Megan swing by once a month since she 'is having such a wonderful time'." He pulled a face. "Once every now and then is ok, but twelve times a year? Messing around with my robots?"

"She is not bad. Just playful." She looked at Jack. "You should play with her too."

"Hey, this needs a lot of work-"

"Remember, Konjou is magnetic and requires less sleep than you. He could do more precise repairs." Jack looked up at Xyzchi.

"Like he can operate an acetylene torch." Jack rolled his eyes.

"Fine. Just remember, the robots will be here tomorrow – she will not." Xyzchi stepped away from the table, walking towards Megan and Konjou. She heard a groan behind her.

"You know how I can tell you're a girl? You REALLY know how to guilt people." Xyzchi turned to see Jack leaving his work table, following her.

"Thank you."

"Yeah, well, if she wants a tea party, I'm out."

"Fair enough. Miss Megan? Is there room for two more?" Megan looked up at them, then at Konjou, then at the jump rope.

"…we're gonna need more rope."

(--)

"Let me get this straight – an ALIEN attacked your car?" The police clerk looked over the frightened couple. The man nodded.

"Yeah! At first, we thought it was a dog, but then-"

"It had this red stuff-"

"-it was ugly, man! And-"

"-it tore up the car like it was paper!"

"Uh-huh." He rolled his eyes. "Look, we already get enough prank calls – I mean, some guy from the Park called to say a monster had gutted a wolf earlier – and we don't need yours."

"But-"

"If it's repairs you want, call your insurance company. Now good night."


End file.
